With a streak of dry Spring days the flood retention field behind our house had transformed to a fairy land of dandelion clocks.
Our neighborhood has walking paths carved throughout including green space and traversing the flood retention field which are also excellent for scootering.
Patrick: “Patti, you cannot see more than a few feet ahead. Doesn’t charging ahead at 5 MPH bother you?”
Patti: “No, it’s fun. What does it matter?”
A navigational trick I have developed is to have Patti follow my voice. Some days I find myself in an impish mood.
Patrick: (prancing and chanting in munchkin pitch) “Follow the black stone road, follow the black stone road”.
Patti: (laughing and cursing) “You are one sick mother f*cker!”
Hearing such language, I switched my singing navigational cues to “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” only to hear the scooter behind me accelerating along with more alternating laughter and gutter-mouth threats to run down munchkins. Is nothing sacred?
While this was a fun outing on a magnificent Spring late afternoon and Patti always “feels” better after scootering, two Multiple Sclerosis symptoms were also demonstrated.
Charging forward unable to see is why unattended scootering ended in the first place over a decade ago. Patti was driving off curbs, flipping her scooter, etc. Deterioration of her thinking and reasoning abilities prevents her from thinking through consequences or risks.
In recent years “inappropriate language” has progressively occupied a larger percentage of Patti’s daily vocabulary. It is a weird symptom and unquestionably can impact public situations. For Scrabble players and or fans of neurology this has its roots in symptoms of ‘emotional lability’ and ‘pseudobulbar affect’.
However, they are only ‘symptoms’ not Patti. Caregivers, family, and friends have to remember that and adapt any situation for anyone in need of care to make the best of possible times.
Dandelion clocks tell time in ‘fairy time’ and it’s always different for every person. Maybe that’s because everyone chooses to do something different with the time we are given.
Caregivingly Yours, Patrick Leer