A Great Day

This weekend started off poorly as Sam was very emotional, crying a lot and said she missed me terribly. Sam just wanted me to take her home and kept asking me to do so. She was also confused and talking about things from her past that seemed to be happening in the present. In stark contrast to Saturday, however, Sunday was the best I have seen Sam- period. I could tell immediately on Sunday morning that she was in a totally different state. When I arrived, Sam was sitting out in the living room area, with a bunch of the other "neighbors" and when I went to greet her and said "Hi Sam" she said "Hi Marcie" back to me which is actually very unusual, because she usually repeats what you say and normally would say "Hi Sam"back. Then very pointedly she asked "How are you? I told her I was doing well and she said "good - I worry about you". This was actually a rare conversation and of course one that showed how much she was thinking and caring about me. It was very touching.
The other neighbors whom I've come to know very well, all came up to me and wanted me to know what Sam did on Friday night. Apparently, after dinner, the physical therapist came by with a special walking machine, and had Sam walk around the whole top floor of the facility. The neighbors told me that they were all amazed at how well Sam did and they were encouraging her to keep going. They said she moved fast and didn't mess-up her footing. I told Sam how proud I was of her and she seemed to be beaming. It was also quite moving that the neighbors all care so much about Sam and are rallying around her wanting to see her do well. Another neighbor, Jonathan, wheeled up to me a little bit later and said that I should record my voice for Sam so that during the week she wouldn't be so lonely and I could encourage her to eat. He said the nurses could play the tape for Sam periodically so that she could just be comforted by my voice. Again, I almost teared up at how concerned Jonathan was for Sam and how much his suggestion made sense. I had brought food with me as usual this weekend and Sam ate everything on Sunday. She even ate all of her lunch which was unusual. Eating is a factor of her awareness level and Sam was the most aware I've seen her. I was also shocked by Sam's short term memory. I had brought the newspaper with me and showed Sam the book review page with Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe on the cover. Later in the day Sam wanted to see some more of the paper, so I took out the book review again (this was about 3 hours later) and Sam said to me..."you already showed this to me ...I want to see something new". - Wow! That was really the first time I've experienced her short-term memory coming back. Later on in the day, I played Annie Lenox's greatest hits and Sam knew almost all the words to all the songs and sang it out loud. Sam was talking and singing clearly all day. What an absolute treat. I didn't want to leave on Sunday night because I was not sure when I would see so much of Sam coming through again. When I did go to say goodbye to Sam, she looked and me and said, "oh, am I coming with you?" ....and as my heart broke and I told her not now sweetie, another time, she seemed okay with that answer. My favorite medication nurse, Michelle gave me a big hug good bye, as she had witnessed both the trouble on Saturday with Sam and then the exact opposite on Sunday. She understood on a very deep level the emotional toll such a weekend takes on a person. There are some amazing people at the Northeast Care Center, and Sam is slowly healing, surrounded by them all.