More on My Brother
My brother, it turned out, did have something specific in mind that he wanted me to bring him when I visited: his laptop. My niece was able to get that information from him when she saw him the day after he called me. I am the one who had the laptop, and so it made sense that he called me.
I brought the computer when I saw him Sunday. I wasn't sure what he would want to do with it, but we logged on to the internet and I showed him that I had set up an e-mail address for him. He wanted to write to our cousin who had sent him a Christmas card (he indicated this by showing me the card) and I composed a message and wrote it for him, with his assent. (He cannot pick out the letters well enough to type, and when he tries to write words they don't come out correctly, but he can read, especially if the print or type is big. I could tell he understood what I was writing when he saw it on the screen. He laughed when I showed him how I was using the online shorthand like "r" for "are" and "u" for "you." It is mysterious how some parts of his brain still work very well but others don't.)
After we did e-mail we looked at some of his photographs that were still on the computer. Then we went outside to do the usual errands--picking up videos (we go up and down the aisles at Blockbuster, he points to movies that look interesting and I read him the descriptions on the back of the box, as dramatically as possible) and whatever he wants from the drugstore: cigarettes, water, chocolate. We went to a different Blockbuster than usual because the usual one seems to have closed down (itself a rather dramatic event) and after we got the movies my brother indicated he wanted to keep walking--well, riding in the chair for him, walking and pushing for me--so we went all the way to the waterfront and sat in a little park by the bay and looked at swans and fishing boats. Then we had a meal at a Turkish restaurant right on the water. My brother was happy just looking around at everyone in the restaurant. I talked a little bit, told him what was going on with me. The food was very good and we both had a glass of wine. It was dark when we left so we took the bus the three-quarters of a mile or so back to the nursing home.
So it was a good day--tiring, but good. I feel sad still about what has happened to him but happy that I can do things for him and that we can still enjoy each other's company.
I brought the computer when I saw him Sunday. I wasn't sure what he would want to do with it, but we logged on to the internet and I showed him that I had set up an e-mail address for him. He wanted to write to our cousin who had sent him a Christmas card (he indicated this by showing me the card) and I composed a message and wrote it for him, with his assent. (He cannot pick out the letters well enough to type, and when he tries to write words they don't come out correctly, but he can read, especially if the print or type is big. I could tell he understood what I was writing when he saw it on the screen. He laughed when I showed him how I was using the online shorthand like "r" for "are" and "u" for "you." It is mysterious how some parts of his brain still work very well but others don't.)
After we did e-mail we looked at some of his photographs that were still on the computer. Then we went outside to do the usual errands--picking up videos (we go up and down the aisles at Blockbuster, he points to movies that look interesting and I read him the descriptions on the back of the box, as dramatically as possible) and whatever he wants from the drugstore: cigarettes, water, chocolate. We went to a different Blockbuster than usual because the usual one seems to have closed down (itself a rather dramatic event) and after we got the movies my brother indicated he wanted to keep walking--well, riding in the chair for him, walking and pushing for me--so we went all the way to the waterfront and sat in a little park by the bay and looked at swans and fishing boats. Then we had a meal at a Turkish restaurant right on the water. My brother was happy just looking around at everyone in the restaurant. I talked a little bit, told him what was going on with me. The food was very good and we both had a glass of wine. It was dark when we left so we took the bus the three-quarters of a mile or so back to the nursing home.
So it was a good day--tiring, but good. I feel sad still about what has happened to him but happy that I can do things for him and that we can still enjoy each other's company.
posted by Sarah Sometimes at 11:16 PM
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