This past Saturday, I was hanging out with a friend of mine from college. She graduated from Manhattanville College last May. She slips her time between upstate NY and the Bronx, so I don't see her too much. We were in the White Plains Galleria, taking a food break, when I heard an elderly lady on my right whisper " Excuse me". when I turned around she was looking down, so I assumed she wasn't talking to me. About 10 minutes later, I hear her say " Excuse me" again. " Can I sit with you?; you seem like nice people." Ummm.... is this woman crazy, sis what I was thinking. Despite our confusion, we let her sit next to us. We asked her questions, but she couldn't remember anything. The only thing she know was that she had been in an accident that caused her to forget pretty much everything. " It's a terrible thing to happen to anyone" she said, " I hope it doesn't happen to you, you're nice people" I was about to get the police, when her caretaker returned. It turns out that ever since her husband died of Parkinson's diseases and her accident she can't remember anything, not even her own daughter and having a caretaker is essential.
This story is soo sad but I know it's not the only one like this out there. That elderly woman is pretty much alone in the world. I wonder if she every feels like taking her own life.. . I wonder how abandoned her daughter must feel, not being able to properly interact with her mother having their common personal memories stolen... I hope this never happens to anyone.
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This is like something out of a movie, I'm almost mad I didn't meet this lady instead of you. This is a story to tell the kids, weird but something you'll never forget.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Yeah, it was something out of a movie. I'm not gonna lie. I thought she was planning to steal our bags. With each "I wish I could remember" comment, my bag moved an inch closer to me.
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