Pumpkin Pie

I wanted to share a little about what my work is like, on the Alzheimer's wing.

Lots of families came in to either take their loved one out to dinner on Thanksgiving, or to bring them Thanksgiving goodies.  In the case of one particular lady, they brought her a very large piece of pumpkin pie.

Well...I wish they wouldn't have. This piece of pie worried that patient (and my coworker and I) for the next 3 hours after they brought it! I have no idea WHY it was such a distressing piece of pie for the patient?  But her family carried it to the dining room as they were leaving, and set it on the table with her.

This caused her to be unable to eat any dinner. She attempted over and over to give the pie away to her tablemates, and every time I went by her table, she'd say to me "I wonder where this came from?" and I'd reply "Your son and daughter in law brought it for you." and she'd say "Oh, they were here?"  I often hear from soldiers in Iraq that they feel like they are in the movie 'Groundhog day", as the same thing seems to happen day after day. All during dinner, I could empathize with that feeling,lol, as I believe this woman and I had that same conversation roughly 207 times:) (note...posssible overexaggeration on the author's part here?lol)

The woman ate only two bites of the pie during dinner, and was still attempting to give it to either one of the staff, or her tablemates, as I wheeled her wheelchair out of the dining room.  I took the pie back to her room, thinking that perhaps she might want to eat it once she got back there?

But instead, over the next few hours as I entered and exited her room...we CONTINUED to have the 'wonder where this came from?your son and daughter in law brought it,oh they were here?" conversation....and she CONTINUED to try and give either my coworker or I the pie.

I finally figured that there is NO way this woman is going to eat this piece of pie, I am tired of it disturbing her AND my coworker and I...and I just threw the piece of pie out. I would never have guessed a piece of pie could be so upsetting? and while I remain curious as to why it bothered her so much.....was it too large? (it was a giant piece of pie)did she have a previous unfortunate association with pumpkin pie in the past, and the memory is gone but the anti-pie feeling remains?  I'll never know the answer.

But...I was so upset by the whole thing,lol, that I couldn't bring MYSELFto eat a piece of pumpkin pie later that evening...I ate a piece of chocolate pie instead!!