Will never forget the watermelons in the trees

Rehabilitation with someone with dementia can truely be a profound experience. You never know what you will be dealing with as well as how sometime you will be amazed when random short term memories work.

Sometimes the mind amazes you

I will never forget a resident I had worked with that had significant dementia and was a long term resident that would need some “tune up” therapy sessions to keep her moving safely and try and prevent falls. Somehow whenever we would have her on caseload, within a few sessions, somehow would actually get excited and remember she was in therapy again. Only when she was on therapy she would roll around the facility singing. What made it even funnier was what she was singing. She would be rolling around singing “we’re walking today!” Over and over again with lots of excitement. And this would only happen when she was on therapy.

Make sure to pick the watermelons from the trees

The facility Therapy gym overlooks a parking lot with some trees in the green areas. As part of her therapy she would occasionally be on the exercise bike which faces out the window for the residents to be able to look outside when they are on the bike. While riding the bike she would consistently ask us to check on the watermelons to see if they were ready to be picked. Well the first few times we would just ask her where she saw the watermelons. She was very insistent that they were growing up in the trees. Well she took great pleasure in that so forever and ever we are checking on the ripeness of the watermelons in the trees for her. Just goes to prove there is still Joy to be found in many parts of this world and I am forever grateful for the memory of her and the watermelons.