Who is he today?

Elbert just can't figure out who he is. That must be awful to have lost your identity. Many characters are dancing around in his head and he becomes one or many. I bought a newspaper from a nearby town and on the front page there was an article about identifying MIA's from the Korean War using DNA. Isn't DNA wonderful? So, Elbert starts talking about some guy (the one in the article) being his buddy and they (whomever THEY are) were going to shoot him. Elbert said he knew all about it and couldn't do anything to stop it. He went on and on and on about this scenerio. To hear him tell it he had been right there and it hurt him that his buddy got killed. It's true Elbert was in Korea for the Inchon Landing but I have never heard him say anything about any buddy being killed. Scrambled up thoughts and it's real to him.

Then when we were watching the Super Bowl he started telling about how he had played in the Super Bowl. The man never played football in his life, not in high school or anywhere else. That was weird to listen to. I just said 'yes honey, that was a great touchdown you made'.

Another time he started talking about killing a chicken. To him the chicken was in the military. He's mixing up the war and living on the farm when he was a child. He's killed a few chickens in his day but as far as I know, there's never been a chicken in the Navy. He's grabbing little tidbits of memory floating around in his brain and they get all tied together and come out his mouth as actuality. It's so sad.

March 23rd I made big plans to go for a good ole sausage biscuit at Hardees. Elbert and I used to go every Monday morning and I thought we'd go today. Things can change in a blink of the eye. Elbert was shaving and I was taking clothes out of the dryer when I hear him fall in the bathroom. When I reached him it was just as it always is, he's gurgling, his eyes rolling back in his head, he's white as a bleached sheet. Somehow I manage to get him in the wheelchair, with a heck of a lot of difficulty I might add. Then came getting him from the wheelchair to the bed... he was totally helpless so I called Shirley for help. After Shirley arrived and we got Elbert tucked into bed Shirley sat down on the side of the bed by her Dad and said, 'Dad you fell between the commode and the shower, it was hard for Mom to get you up' at which he replied, 'It's a wonder she didn't flush me'. That humor of his, I swear, it's still delightful.

Maybe I could have figured out how to get him over in the bed.... Maybe I call for help because it scares the beegeebees out of me when he is acting this way. I don't want to be alone. Suppose...... well, let's don't go there. I just rather be with somebody who is loving and strong and cares.