Goodnight, Elsie

by Tony Apperley

  Goodnight, Elsie

  ANTON APPERLEY

  Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co.

  E-book edition © 2013

  Print edition © 2013 - ISBN: 978-1-62212-789-4

  All rights reserved – Anton Apperley

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, from the publisher.

  Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co.

  12620 FM 1960, Suite A4-507

  Houston, TX 77065

  www.sbpra.com

  ISBN: 978-1-62857-340-4

  Interior Book Design: Judy Maenle

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  CHAPTER ONE

  Frank and Elsie Herbert sat calmly reading magazines while waiting for their doctor to see them. They wanted his opinion of some recent events and had booked an extended consultation so they could discuss in-depth the problems Elsie was having. Frank was concerned about the recent confusion he had noticed with Elsie’s thoughts and actions becoming slightly sidetracked. She was also somewhat confused as to where things were, or where to be put things away. This worried Frank as they had lived in the same house for over forty years and until recently, she knew where every towel or sheet was and knew what was in the cupboards and pantry. Eighteen months had gone by since he had first noticed a little confusion and slight memory loss, but lately things had become far more confusing for her. He would explain to the doctor how her memory of past events was fine; it was just the more recent things like conversations or where she had put certain items that she was forgetting. In the early stages she was aware she was becoming forgetful and confused and that bothered her, but lately she seemed to either not realize or not care anymore. When he had first noticed her slight confusion and minor memory loss, it seemed like nothing to be alarmed about, but as time wore on she had become far more confused and forgetful, so now they were here to get it diagnosed and hopefully sorted out.

  Doctor Bailey arrived and called them into his consultation room, he asked them to be seated then asked, “What can I do for you, what’s wrong?”

  Frank was the first to speak. “Elsie is a bit forgetful and confused these days. She puts things away in places where they don’t normally go, so when she wants them again, she can’t find them. If we talk about something, she forgets the conversation quickly so then later we have to talk about it again. I’m also concerned for her safety; just the other day she picked up a carving knife, but she picked it up by the blade. It’s a very sharp knife and she knows that. But she didn’t seem to care or didn’t notice which way to pick it up; she was lucky it didn’t cut her. She had previously put it on a shelf in the pantry, with the blade facing out. We have a knife block for sharp knives, they don’t go in the pantry. I’m getting worried about her. I do all the cooking now as she forgets to turn off elements; one time recently she made us coffee, but without coffee in the pot. She perked hot water. Sometimes she uses odd words in a sentence so it doesn’t make any sense. She also seems to get confused about what to wear, that’s not too big an issue, but it’s not like her to be confused about clothes.”

  Elsie interrupted Frank by saying, “I’m not too bad doctor. I think others are having problems. They seem to be the ones who are confused. I know I may get a little forgetful at times but it’s nothing to be fussed about, I wouldn’t even be here if Frank hadn’t told me I had to come and see you. He’s the one doing all the fussing, not me.”

  Frank then continued, telling the doctor of what he had noticed and how it had progressed, all that took some time to explain. As he was doing so, Doctor Bailey was looking at Elsie, while listening attentively to Frank. He asked Elsie a few simple questions about herself and where she lived and what day it was, and then allowed Frank to continue. When Frank had finished describing the last eighteen months, and more so the last six months, the doctor explained what he thought was the probable cause of Elsie’s confused state of mind. He thought they may have left it a little too long before coming to see him, but now they were here he would do the best he could for them. He was also wondering if the time frames Frank had mentioned were correct, as he may not have noticed to begin with nor been overly concerned for some time after the initial onset of her confusion and forgetfulness.

  Doctor Bailey said to them, “I’ve considered what you have both told me, and I feel that you, Elsie, are in the early stages of dementia. I would like to take this a step further and organize a series of tests for you to determine what is actually going on. Dementia covers several aspects and phases, so in order to pinpoint what is happening with you and to know how to treat your disorder, we really need to know what it is you’re actually suffering from. It’s not a condition I’m prepared to guess about, so the tests will help determine what ails you. We will get to the bottom of this and set up a plan to deal with it. In the meantime, Frank, you may need to keep a close eye on your wife, just to make sure she’s safe and not putting things in dangerous places or getting things out of places where there could be danger. Perhaps you could put the carving knives away somewhere safe. You, Elsie, should start taking note of what you’re doing and why, that way you may stay in touch with just what it is you’re really doing. Just relax and take it easy for now, there’s no need to be fussed or bothered about things. Just do what it is you’re doing at the time and leave other things until you’ve finished what you began. We’ll be in touch with you again soon, when we’ve organized a few tests for you.”

  With that said Doctor Bailey bid the couple farewell and watched attentively as Elsie began to back out looking a little bewildered about what she had heard. Frank took her hand in his and guided her out of the room; Doctor Bailey noticed and respected Frank’s concern and commitment to his wife. He then followed a little way behind them and watched them leave the building. He had known Frank and Elsie for many years and even though he was concerned professionally for Elsie, he was equally concerned for Frank. He knew of Frank’s long time commitment to his wife, so he wondered how Frank would cope with his wife’s illness. When Elsie wasn’t well, she wasn’t always aware of it; it was Frank who had to watch his beloved slipping away from him. He was also aware of Frank’s medical history. He knew Frank would soon be under stress as Elsie became sicker, with Frank having to do all the daily household duties, while also keeping an eye on her. He also needed to make sure she had taken her medication for her other ailments, at the right times and in the right amounts. He could see a stressful time ahead for Frank.

  The drive home began well with Elsie’s initial stunned and confused reaction then turning to one where she was not at all concerned with what was going on, if anything she was humored by Doctor Bailey saying she needed to be tested, she said light heartedly to Frank, “What a silly doctor, I told him everything and answered all his questions and he still thinks I’m not well. I think he’s the sick one; maybe he should be tested.” She then went very quiet for a time, not responding to any of Frank’s comments, she just didn’t care. When she
did speak again, she was angry and insulting to their doctor.

  This showed Frank that she really wasn’t well. Normally Elsie was calm and composed; it was unlike her to be angry and aggressive, or to laugh mockingly at a professional’s opinion, especially from the doctor she had been seeing for over twenty-five years. He had been noticing the odd personality and behavioral changes lately. He was becoming even more concerned after hearing the diagnosis. It was a little over two years since she had been diagnosed with osteoporosis, but now there was another medical problem for them to contend with. It seemed to Frank like the future had some hard, stressful times for them both. But nevertheless he would remain faithfully committed to her and do the best he could to ensure her safety and to ease her burden. Although, he felt the larger heavier burden was on him.

  The osteoporosis had been a disappointment for her as she was once active and a fond gardener. Their garden was lovingly maintained for many years but recently it had just been left to do its own thing. She was uncomfortable kneeling to weed or bending to care for her plants now, and since the confusion had set in, she didn’t even seem to care anymore. Frank would occasionally do some weeding for her, but gardening was neither a passion nor hobby for him. So to him, it was just work, he was doing a favor for his wife. Frank had suspected for some time there was something seriously wrong with his wife, but this was not what he had expected to hear. He thought whatever it was could have been fixed with some medication; he was disturbed to hear it was dementia that was causing her to have the problems she now faced. Now things were looking even worse for her. But she would not have to face the problem alone.

  As they arrived home, Elsie looked lovingly at her home. It had been her home for forty-six years; she had many fond memories’ of her years spent here which gave her a sense of inner peace after hearing what the doctor had to say. But she wasn’t going to accept the doctor telling her she had a brain sickness. She didn’t believe that at all. Her long-term memory didn’t seem to be affected by what was happening to her now; it was just her short-term memory that seemed to be failing. When they had gone inside, she went off to get changed while Frank went to the kitchen. She felt that she was all right; she had the odd off-day lately when she was a little confused as to where things went or perhaps who people were, but she didn’t feel like it was an illness of any kind. She would recognize her friends; she just had a problem putting a name to the face occasionally. She thought perhaps it was just that she was getting a little older so she wasn’t at all concerned. She thought that as she was seventy-two now, maybe other people needed to realize that and stop pestering her by telling her she was doing things wrong. She wondered why it was even an issue if she accidentally put the clean sheets in with the dirty sheets or put the towels in the pantry by mistake. It was her home so she could put things wherever she wanted to. When she was well she thought that being seventy-two was why she was a little confused sometimes, although she also thought seventy-two wasn’t very old at all, so perhaps something really was wrong with her. She wasn’t aware of all the off-times she had; she thought her occasional memory lapses or confusion were just random, but others had noticed they were becoming more frequent and were lasting longer. Because normally she didn’t even realize she wasn’t well, she thought the others were just being finicky about certain things so perhaps it was them who needed help. Initially she would have the odd day while she was generally normal, but lately off-days were her normal state, but she didn’t notice. So now her normal times were becoming less while her secluded and uncaring nature was becoming more frequent.

  Frank set about making a light lunch for them. He was seventy-eight and had been retired from his job as senior salesman at a large local hardware store for thirteen years now, but he was still mentally and physical well for his age. He hadn’t wanted to retire, nor felt he needed to, but it was company policy that when an employee reached sixty-five their time was up. The first five years of his retirement were fun for them both, but then they slowed down a little. The last three years saw the onset of Elsie’s health issues, first the osteoporosis, then the dementia so now they mostly just stayed around the house. It began as a slow and not very obvious illness at first but now it had gotten to the point where it couldn’t be ignored anymore; according to their doctor she really was sick. She was also often referring to something physically uncomfortable but wouldn’t talk about that, she just jokingly made the odd comment from time to time. Frank thought it must have had something to do with her osteoporosis.

  Elsie arrived in the dining room, that was semi-attached to the kitchen looking tired and drawn; she seemed to tire easily lately.

  Frank noticed she looked pale as he placed before her a tasty lunch. “You okay, El? You’re looking a bit tired. Here you are, coffee and pizza should lighten you up a bit.”

  Elsie was happy to see her favorite lunch on the table but looked a little worried and embarrassed, “I just had one of my little issues again. We have a nice home here, don’t we? I was just looking at all the wood you’ve kept polished over the years; it’s just like it was when we moved in, you’ve done really well here, I’m proud of how you’ve kept our home so nice.” Their home was built in 1961 when builders still used real timber finishes, so they had timber moldings to match their stained timber floors which suited their Oregon pine exposed ceiling beams. Every seven years Frank would set about tidying all the timber throughout the house so it all still looked as good as when it was first constructed. Elsie and Frank were both avid lovers of all things natural, so there were very few veneer finishes in their home, it was crammed full of exposed timber with plants in every room, and even the bathroom had ferns hanging from the ceiling in macramé hangers, which Elsie had made many years earlier.

  Frank noticed how yet again she had mentioned her little issues but then didn’t tell him what they were. He had asked her several times about what was happening but she wouldn’t explain or discuss it, so he wasn’t sure if they were of a serious nature or if she was just fixating about something normal. There were times when she was apparently functioning normally, fully aware of how long she had been here and what was happening around her, other times she was slightly confused and a little offbeat. Frank himself was also slowly becoming more and more confused because he didn’t know what was wrong with his wife or what was really going on inside her head. He was more concerned for her than he showed, but he didn’t want to worry her by being overly anxious, as he knew that would cause her stress. He thought that perhaps her shutting herself down was to avoid having a conversation, which she may then forget about.

  As they sat at their dining room table, a solid timber table with four matching chairs bought for them as a wedding present, the doorbell rang. As Frank got up to answer it, he noted how Elsie had taken a mental or emotional plummet since arriving home after seeing the doctor, he thought perhaps it had stressed her. At the door was the local church minister, Ivan, who had come to see how they had gotten on at the doctors. They both went to church but not weekly, they would attend church every Christmas and Easter and occasionally at other times if they had nothing else to do on a Sunday morning. They had attended the same local church that way for about thirty years; neither was sure exactly how long they had been going. They were believers in the faith and lived their lives accordingly, following the Ten Commandments, but they weren’t what some would refer to as ‘Holy Roller Christians.’ They were a couple who lived a clean and sin-free life as best as they could; they were a solid, stable couple devoted to each other without any past infidelities or hidden secrets, which showed in their demeanor and overall attitudes to life. Because of that, they were well-respected in their local community and the minister, who had only recently turned forty-two, thought of them respectfully. Ivan would occasionally call in to see them, as he did with others in their age group. Ivan had a compassion and concern for the elderly members of the congregation, so it wasn’t unusual for him to come and visit them. He knew of Elsie’
s illness so had decided to call in more often to see how they were getting on.

  Frank had mentioned his concerns about Elsie’s health to Ivan and told him about the doctor’s appointment so he had called in to see what the result was. Frank greeted him warmly, “hi Ivan, come in, there’s fresh coffee in the pot.”

  Ivan replied with a smile, “Hi there Frank, so how did it go?” Frank didn’t answer. He just indicated for Ivan to follow him. Ivan followed him through to the dining room, looking admiringly at the house, he loved this home. He liked the natural wood interior with the plants scattered around and the retro-looking furniture, except it wasn’t retro, it was well-cared-for original furniture from the past. He noticed the bean bag in the corner next to the stereo record player and an original CD player, they had upgraded to CD’s when they first hit the market but not since. There was very little modern technology here; they did of course have a good television and a VCR to play videos, but no DVD’s were playable. Ivan knew Frank had an old computer system set up in his study but only for doing banking. He had bought it new in the late 90’s. It wasn’t used for entertainment or communications; it was just a tool, not a toy. Neither of them had cell phones. Ivan saw Elsie sitting at the table looking tired, “hello Elsie, so, do you have good news or is there more to all this?” “Hi Ivan, I’m not worried too much about what Doctor Bailey said, I think he’s got me mixed up with someone else. I don’t know why you’re all fussing so much, I’m okay just as I am.”

  Ivan looked at Frank, “perhaps you could come down to the church for a talk sometime. I’m normally there, but if I’m not, I wouldn’t be too far away. You could book a time to see me if you want to. Of course, there are times when I go visiting, like now, but that’s not every day.”

  Frank was in two minds about that, “I’ll think about it Ivan, maybe I might do that sometime, I could let you know what’s happening.” After that, the talk changed tack into light-hearted chatter about nothing overly important. Ivan left a short time later, wishing them both well with a blessing to them both.