The Doctor's Waiting Room

Earlier, I made note of an incident that happened at a doctor's office in Marion. I think I need to preface the story by saying that many caregivers face times which are uncomfortable or embarrassing, but which are part of the dementia process. For my dad, something started right after my mom passed away. For several months, he kept using the p*ssy word. He would say he needed some p*ssy to caregivers or he would make comments out in public about it. There is nothing you can do! When the word comes out, you hope people don't hear it, or at least are not paying attention! With this episode, the time had really passed that Dad was using the word. But about a year ago, I took him to the doctor. We were sitting in the waiting area and I gave Dad a magazine to look at. He was reading the captions of all the pages, out loud, of course. People would look over at me and smile. This day we had to wait longer than usual, about 20 minutes. He was reading through his third magazine, saying things like, "GMC Terrain, seating for 5 adults." or "Reezig, the energy drink for your feet" and so on. At that moment, the door from the doctor's rooms opened and an elderly lady walked out and proceeded to the receptionist window. Dad looked up from his magazine and said aloud, "I wonder how her p*ssy looks!?" Well, I almost died! I wanted to slither under my chair. I looked at Dad with a cross look. He went right back to reading his magazine. Fortunately, he was called back to see the doctor right after that! What do you do? What can you do? Caregivers are dealing with this at different times. Fortunately, my dad hasn't used that word in a long time and I think it has left his repertoire! Now my dad really just says the same things in response to people and in greeting people. The only time he says unusual things is maybe when he is dreaming or right after he wakes up; then what he says often doesn't make sense. I think it's important for people to know that many caregivers are dealing with these kinds of situations and when people hear strange things such as this, they might remember this! Thanks!....Susie