The Lady in Langley
There is a woman who resides on the third floor of a care facility in Langley, BC (Canada) whom I care about deeply.
Following several weeks of complete isolation in March and April of this year, she was moved from her semi-independent living quarters to the care facility, a floor above.
Whether accelerated by the isolation or simply caused by the passage of time, she is noticeably more advanced in her loss of memory than she was three months ago.
Thankfully, she seems to be slipping into the blissful side of 'dementia' (it took me a few moments for my fingers to pound that word on my keyboard) rather than lingering half in, half out of the darkness of fear and paranoia.
She is amazingly lucid at times, as she was a few days ago on Canada Day, when she was asked to pray at the gathering of seniors on her floor. Apparently, she waxed eloquent and said all the right things.
Other times, she seems to stammer and stumble at, not just trying to find the words, but also correlating her thoughts.
It was in this frame of mind that I read a story sent to me of Juan Manuel Ballestros who sailed across the Atlantic to be reunited with his parents. It took him almost three months, and he finally arrived a couple of weeks ago
His story is inspiring at various levels. Not least being that the old adage is true "where there is a will, there is a way".
Well, I have a way too. It is also a boat, and it got me thinking. Hmmmmmmmm.
