Over a period of seven to eight years, my sister Irene developed signs of dementia. She gradually became more and more distant, ate less and less and remembered more of the past than the immediate present. Ursula and I made it a point to dine with John and Irene every Sunday or as often as possible. Gradually she seemed to repeat herself and never seemed to forget her role as hostess. Washing up after meals gave her a sense of being needed.
As time went on however, this became very dangerous as there were numerous falls and broken bones. It was suggested that a home would be the right place for her as her partner was in no position to give her the attention she needed.
I saw her many mornings and she greeted me, recognized me but we only had decent conversations when we talked about the past.
I hardly knew how to deal with being with her as the repeated questions went on endlessly and she gradually became very frail as a result of so many falls.
I prayed for her as indeed did Ursula and we started the habit of laying hands on her and praying for her and asking Jesus to make Himself present to her as Irene was the prayerful one in our family when we were young.
Recently she again ended up in hospital after a nasty fall though she never seemed to register great pain. She was happy to see Ursula and I and we had the usual repetitive questions. “Are you married? Where do you live? Have you eaten?” etc.
As I was about to leave the hospital room, I decided to pray for her. I was dressed in colourful summer clothes. I prayed, once again, that Jesus would bless her and make Himself known to her. I left her side and went to the end of the bed to give her a last wave goodbye. As I stood there, she said “why are you all in white David?” I said I was not, but she insisted that I was and looked very excited.
I can only imagine that Jesus had heard our prayer as she certainly was not seeing me. I hope and pray that Jesus continues to make himself known to her.