Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

She just got out of the hospital recently where she underwent some serious operations. I wanted to surprise her after work so I stopped by for a quick visit.

When I got there she was happy to see me. We hugged, kissed and exchanged greetings. Then I heard a woman crying. It was my great grandma’s roommate. The curtain was drawn so I could not see her. She started calling out a name that wasn’t mine but she was definitely talking to me, begging me to go to her side of the room.

I ignored her at first and continued visiting with my great grandma. Then she started begging and saying, “Please, come see me!" So I went to see her.

When I drew the curtain back she looked so old and frail but flashed me the biggest smile! She opened her arms wide for me to hug her so I bent low and gave her a hug. She held me so tight and would not let go. I had to force myself to pull away from her and I hated doing it. I sat on her bed and talked with her for a few minutes. She kept calling me by the other name but I did not correct her. She told me stories like I had been there when they happened.

Eventually I went back to visit with my great grandma. Then the other woman started crying again, saying, “Please, come back." She eventually dozed and when she woke up again she said some of the most beautiful and heartwarming prayers I have ever heard. My great grandma told me how they prayed together at night.

I stopped by the nurse’s station and the nurse told me that the lady suffers from Alzheimer’s, otherwise known as dementia. I mentioned the name she had called me. The nurse told me it was the lady’s daughter’s name. Then I understood why she wanted me to go visit with her.

It was a heart-breaking experience but it gave me a new perspective on life.

We will all get old someday. Some of us will have broken minds like my great grandma’s roommate and some of us will have broken bodies like my great grandma. But what was beautiful was the fact that both ladies, one 86 and the other 90, did not have broken spirits.

As I was leaving I promised I would go back and visit the lady, even after my great grandma moves back to her home state.

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