Snow Melt

Lies and Alzheimer's Disease

The September 9, 2013 prompt for "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum"  is
What was the last lie you told? Why did you tell it? If you're up to it, write a short story about it.

What was the last lie I told? The last lie, I remember telling, was to my mother. This event occurred in 2011 or 2012, I woke up about midnight to the sound of weeping. I went into Mom's room to find her attempting to get out of bed. I sit down beside her and ask her what was wrong. She wanted to know where her husband was. I have to admit I go chills up my spine because Mom and Dad had divorced for decades. I am not sure when the divorce occurred because, if I every knew the date, I have blocked that date out of my mind.

My mother had forgotten about the divorce, but not because the event was traumatic. Mom forgot about the divorce because the Alzheimer's disease was eating away her memories. I knew that there were two truths I could not tell her; I could not tell Mom she and Dad were divorce nor that he was dead. Since she had forgotten both facts it would only upset her if I told her the truth because she would not believe it. I told Mom that Dad's job had called him into work early because someone had called in sick, which left them short handed. Mom accepted the lie and went back to sleep. Fortunately, she forgot about our conversation in the middle of the night.

One of the things I learned in caring for my mother was that you cannot tell an Alzheimer's patient the truth when they ask for someone who is dead and buried. Telling them the truth only upsets the patient so you tell them a believable and convenient lie. An Alzheimer's suffer will forget the topic of the conversation in a few seconds and you will have to deal with another and, hopefully, more peasant subject. I regret lying to my mother, I never liked lying to her even when I was a child, however, Alzheimer's disease gives the caregiver not other choice.

Thought of the Day: "You can't converse with Alzheimer's sufferers in the way you do with others; the dialogue tends to go round in circles." - Kevin Whately