About a week ago, I mentioned ordering small cards with a message that I could discreetly give to people in a public situation. The message says, “My wife has Alzheimer’s. Sometimes she may say or do something unusual. Your patience and kindness are appreciated.” This afternoon we took my car to have it serviced. On the way, Kate noticed a TCU alumni magazine on the floorboard of the passenger side. She had left it there on a previous trip and hadn’t remembered seeing it at all.
When we arrived at the dealer’s, she took it inside with her. As I was talking with the service rep, she kept interrupting to show me pictures and articles. She also commented when she would see “TCU” in a headline. She didn’t recognize that it was a TCU magazine. Several times she asked, “Who is that?” All of them were faculty, students, or alumni. In one case, she asked the rep if she knew the person. When she didn’t, Kate said, “I think she’s a celebrity of some kind.”
While we were in the office, the sales rep from whom I had purchased my last two cars walked in to say hello. That led to a brief conversation about new cars and the new safety features, specifically the indicator that lets you know when a car is in your blind spot. Kate didn’t understand and asked, “What in the world are you talking about?” We tried to explain, but she couldn’t understand “blindspot.” When the service rep took us to our loaner car, Kate seemed confused about which side of the car she should get in. I felt this was a perfect time for such a card. I took one out of my wallet and handed it to the service rep and took Kate to the passenger’s door. When I returned to the driver’s door, the service rep gave me a smile of acknowledgement. I wonder how many of these cards I will distribute.
