Road trip to Texas: Day 8

Mom and Mary in Sandwich, Massachusetts, several years ago.

We visited my mom today. She's 83 and pretty far into the stages of Alzheimer's disease. I'm no expert on this disease, but I can see how it has robbed her of her quality of life. I used to be able to call and chat with her several times a week. Now she no longer answers the phone. Perhaps it's better that way with the number of lowlifes out there who try and take advantage of disoriented senior citizens.

She lives in a facility that specializes in the care of Alzheimer's patients. They had to move her to the "lock down" area about a year ago after she started wandering and was found out in the parking lot. Wandering is a milestone on the timeline of this disease; obviously not a good one.

My brother (Dale), my sister-in-law (Sallie) and my niece (Laura) live in El Paso and give a great deal of their time caring for Mom. It is a tough job and extremely frustrating because of Alzheimer's progressive nature. There is simply no way to thank Dale, Sallie and Laura enough.

There are ups and downs, of course. Periods of lucence. Periods of nonrecognition. Today, I was kidding with her and she laughed--like I remember her laughing. That was worth the trip. A minute later she was in a blank stare and then fell asleep. And so it goes...

We also spent some time with the grandkids. They sported their Halloween costumes for us.



Finally, here are a few shots of the mountains and desert city of El Paso, Texas.