Direct speech cuts through the fog of PD but if it is done without thought it can sound hurtful to the parkie.
As Cheryl and I move farther down this road of Parkinson’s disease, it becomes more and more important for me to speak a little bit slower and more distinctly. Two things I have noticed recently tell me that Cheryl has a harder and harder time following conversation. The first thing I noticed is that more often after I have related a story to her, she will ask a question to clarify it that indicates she did not understand what I was talking about from the beginning but was too polite to interrupt and get a better understanding from the beginning. The second thing I have noticed is similar in that she is certain that she understands the story and at the end comments that the person – someone different than who I was talking about – etc.
To counteract that, I hereby resolve to take a deep breath more often and allow her to jump in if she has a question. The other aspect of that is that she has a difficult time following group conversations. Zoom meeting conversations seem specially difficult.
It will be tricky though. She perceives that I am angry when the expression on my face reveals that I am disappointed that she did not understand my comments. (Maybe I am because I realize I have gone on and on without letting myself detect whether she was with me or not. Or maybe I want to believe that.) I do try to not be angry. I do also miss the fact that we used to have animated discussions about a wide range of topics – political, religious, emotional, parenting. There are a lot of those in fifty years of a marriage. We cannot do that any longer, she cannot always follow my thought progression. And Cheryl, oft times, completely looses the thread that she was trying to explain and will give up mid-sentence.
I have learned to not ask questions while she is laying out her thoughts about something. I do not always do it. We have been married too long and she is one of the most intelligent people I know. I love her too much. We used to challenge each other in our thought processes. It takes little commentary from me to knock her thought train off the track. And when I do that she perceives that she is “being made fun of”. It saddens me and no amount of apology can remove my internal guilt for being a dumb ass and forgetting about her current situation. I should have kept my mouth shut so she could get her though out.
I suppose that a caregiver spouse is doomed to the fire of dumb-assedness occasionally and maybe even often.
A Small Prayer
Lord, help me to understand that I do not know all the answers, that only she knows how and what she is feeling.
Teach me to be supportive when necessary, to be the explainer when asked, or to be the leader if called upon by her to do so, but instill in me the patience, wisdom and empathy to determine which of those is called for this time.
Please lift me up when I am down, show me the humor in awkward situations and nudge me when I lack understanding. (Do not make your nudges subtle for I am male.)
Send me “Aha” moments for us (but specially me) to grow through, messages from above for us to share and empathy so that I can step into her shoes and readjust my attitude.
These are selfish asks and I have asked for a lot Lord, but the most important is my request for forgiveness when, in human error, I tread upon her heart.
I added words to a prayer written by another caregiver Facebook friend that she wrote from a wife’s perspective. On my computer home page I simply call the file “ReadThisEveryDay.pdf”. I read it almost every day but not often enough during the day to remind me of transgressions.
… be still my heart.
Adjunct_Wizard 