Hi @Spaceshot
I could have done this job 20-30 years ago, but I'm a better person for this job now.
An example from yesterday: a client in a chair who happened to have his 94th birthday. Strong dementia but not threatening. Has an OA and CBE - in his day, one of the top legal brains in the country. Now, a guy who either just sleeps or has disjointed conversations and drools a bit.
I take him out twice a week. We have a milkshake and a chat. Who I am depends on what is going on in his head at the time. I'm usually "Sid". His eyesight is gone. The only person he recognizes is his son, who spends most time in the US.
For me, most of my time is spent keeping up with whatever story he is telling. It's like making up a yarn "live", on the spot. I would recommend this to any creative writers out there - a good imaginative exercise. If anyone wants to spend more time "living in the moment" try talking to dementia peeps
You have to put your own ego aside and enter someone else's head space. Don't think everyone can (or wants to) do this.
A happy Silly Season to you and yours!
