What a fabulous afternoon!
It was a thrill to have a lineup at the door waiting to get in. The reason?… Bob (Dad) made a rare public appearance out of his nursing home and of course arrived ‘fashionably late’ at the venue just after 2pm in a black convertible BMW.
It was a last minute decision to bring Dad but it was so worth it. A massive effort was required by the nursing home staff to have his meds done, get him ready, (placing him in the car took 20 mins), then we cruised the streets of Adelaide like a couple of rockstars. Bob kept trying to open his door on the way (while the car was moving) but eventually relaxed and laughed as we had the wind in our hair (well… Dad’s hair) before arriving at Kent Town and shuffling him into the room to an audience. You would swear Elvis had just entered the building:-).
As I am in Melbourne next weekend with my son, this DD event was my early Father’s Day and I loved it. To share Dad with such an understanding and caring group of people was very special to me .
Whilst it may have looked like I was under pressure and pre-occupied with Dad, this is just how you spend quality time with someone with dementia. (With one eye always on them)
I must say a special ‘thank you’ to Liz and Kate for all the delicious rocky road, scones and sandwiches. They were also instrumental in rotating ‘looking after’ Dad with Jane Doolette, allowing me to mix with everyone. Thank you very much ladies for this and also a big thanks to the ‘always happy’ Paris who helped handing out food plus a variety of other tasks.
We had a great mix of carers, trainers, family members, people with dementia and it was a very patient and sincere group indeed. It was so nice to not have to worry about Dad and who he might chat with, or what he might get up to, and touch.
The conversations flowed with ease and everyone stayed an extra hour to catch up on all things dementia. New friendships were made, information and stories were shared and food was devoured.The group bonded really well and laughed, especially when Dad without warning lifted up Nicki’s leg up in front of everyone.This is dementia….
A big thank you to everyone for attending and for all the preparation and clean up efforts to make this day possible.
Bring on the next event!
thank you
Brett.
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