Dr. Einstein and Ms. Twinkie

[susandennis]

I'm talking about my Mom.

A recap for any new friends. Mom is 80 years old and lives in South Carolina in an apartment that is the independant living section of a large, plush retirement place. She and Daddy were married for 52 years before he died 4 years ago - just after they moved into that place. She's had lots of little strokes and a few medium sized ones over the past 15 years. Physically she's not too bad except for a really old and worn out heart which could go any minute.

Mentally, she divides her time between being shockingly brilliant and resourceful and being poster girl for dementia week. The trick is to figure out if you are talking to Dr. Einstein or Ms. Twinkie. Cause I'm here to tell you, Dr. Enstein gets torked off quickly if she thinks you think she's Mr. Twinkie!

She loves her computer. She's been sending email and surfing the web now for about 6 years and since Daddy died, it's been a real life line to her. She has her own domain name and loves impressing her friends with her cool email address.

She does not really 'get' the difference between email and the rest of her computer. She knows that she gets the latest news when she clicks on the 'e with a tail on it.' She has a lead mouse finger and is forever moving her start bar over to the side or deleting a toolbar. She cannot grasp the concept of userid and password.

When I was there last, we set her up so she could order her medicine from Walgreens' website and just go pick it up. We did a couple of run throughs and I thought she had it but the minute I left she hit a snag. She said she was just going to go back to doing it the old fashioned way. That was in May.

This morning she sent an email that she was off to Walgreens cause she got the email that her drugs were ready. I said that I had thought she'd given up ordering them online. Her reponse, dripping with indignation, was 'and go back to doing it like these old people here do it? Not me!'

Same with Tivo. I set it all up for her and made her mess with it while I was there. But, I was pretty sure she didn't understand most of it. I made sure that she could still watch TV and that she knew where the Tivo book was before I left.

I got home and sure enough 'Tivo broke my TV - it's all snow'. We got through that one. Then she said she couldn't record anything but she could watch stuff so that was fine and she so loves being on the cutting edge - she signed her emails TivoTess for a couple of weeks. I'd get emails about how she couldn't figure out how to work it and then, every once in a while, I'd get the 'snow' email again. Each time, I'd send her a fix or a hint but I figured it was a loss.

Yesterday her note said "I decided to start recording All My Children since Tivo makes it so easy to do... I haven't watched it in years, it might be fun. If not, I can just delete."

Today she's ordering - online - some of her more expensive medicine from Canada. But first she has to get her Doctor to sign off on it and she's worried because he doesn't even have email - he might not understand.

She's a never ending source of amusement and she knows it which is most of the fun. I'm very lucky.

This is her haughty, 'Don't be ridiculous' look - I get it a lot...

Comments

Your mother sounds like my boyfriend.

[magicwoman.livejournal.com]

That is with regard to electronics and computers. We are way behind the curve at our home because He just doesn't get it. He'll ask me a question and I'll answer and he'll give me the same look as your mom in the picture you posted. He says I talk over his head (which I don't - well, maybe) when it comes to computers. He finally jumped into the "modern age" when I purchased WebTV in 1999. He does use e-mail and has a basic knowledge of it - but very limited. He just does what he wants on there and not much else - he isn't a surfer boy that's for sure.

Your mom sounds delightful and you sound quite saintly in patiently explaining things again.

Susan

[lothie.livejournal.com]

What a trip she is!

[androkles.livejournal.com]

Mothers. You;ve got to love them.

Mine had Alzheimers for eight years before she died. It was so sad, seeing her disappear. But then, there were moments of astonishing lucidity. Like the last time I saw her, when she looked me straight in the eye and said 'Are you sure you have to go back to Sydney?' That was after a week when most of the time I might as well have been a lamppost.

I just used to carry on as if she was totally normal. You never know what's going in, even when nothing much is coming out.

[hlee.livejournal.com]

Susan, could you post a larger version of your Mom's photo? It's wonderful.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

She almost sounds more adventurous than my parents who still have all their faculties.

[idajo.livejournal.com]

She's a never ending source of amusement and she knows it which is most of the fun. I'm very lucky.


And, because you've chosen to share her with us, so are we!

[minimac.livejournal.com]

Chalk me up as another "Mom story" fan. Being that I'm very close to my own mother, they really hit a soft spot.
My Mom just doesn't have a knack with any thing electronic or computer related (we still have to set the VCR to record for her). But you have renewed my determination to at least teach Mom how to email!