In 2017, my family joined Mitzi’s family to ride out a category 1 hurricane that hit our area. Trying to minimize stress for Mitzi by keeping her surrounded with family and friends who were familiar made for a relatively uneventful experience.
It’s so hard to know what the reaction to stressful situations will be for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease. Especially in unfamiliar surroundings and outside of a routine. For the most part, Mitzi did really well and it was actually a fun experience at times. She was used to seeing me just about every day at that point, so it probably helped some that I was present even if the situation was unsettling to her. Her husband and daughter were right with her as well, and I really don’t think it could have gone better. Plus, there’s a connection that unites you when you weather the literal storms of life together with others. My kids will always remember going through Hurricane Irma with Ms. Mitzi.
This week, most of our state is likely to see some impact from Hurricane Dorian. Mitzi doesn’t know at all that the whole state is waiting and watching and preparing for a possible landfall near us. She hasn’t had to see the frenzy at the supermarkets on the bottled water aisles. She hasn’t had to buy a single battery, or drive from gas station to station willing to pay for premium when regular unleaded will do if only it was available. Best of all, she will, not once, have to be told to “hunker down.” If Jim Cantore shows up nearby, she’ll not even bat an eye. In fact, after a week of tremendous agitation and jumpiness, she slept through the 11am advisory today in absolute perfect peace. Today, that was the one gift of Alzheimer’s.
There is a song on the Christian radio station with lyrics that say, “Sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms His child.” I couldn’t help but hear that refrain as I watched her on the video monitor today, sleeping peacefully…????
