Mama Jo's Mind

Memory lapses happen to us all. They say it gets worse with age. But for my Mama Jo it has been worse than a little lapse. A few months ago a virus attacked her brain. With the attack came profound memory loss. After 3 or 4 weeks she rebounded significantly--recalling things like my late grandfather's name and able to basically take care of herself under supervision. My mom and dad are providing the supervision. Right now she is living with them, but during our recent visit my aunt flew in for two weeks to stay with her. (Thank you Aunt Pam)! They would frequently stop by for a meal or just to socialize during the day.

On the surface, Mama Jo seems fine. She even used a broom to sweep away the starling nest from the corner of the barn (eggs and all). If you know the woman, you'll understand that it's a good sign that she's getting back to normal. She joins in conversation and sometimes has trouble coming up with a name (but who doesn't). But when my Aunt Pam picked her up from my parents' house to take her to her home (20 minutes away) she asked Pam where they were going. "We're going to your house, Mom."--"I have a house?" They got there and stepped inside. "This is my house?"--"Yes, Mom, you've lived here for 65 years." She looked around and dryly replied, "Well, it looks like it."


I am sad to say that this is the only close-up picture I have of Mama Jo from this visit. I'm sure my mom has one in which she isn't licking her lips or sitting beside one of the filthiest children ever to crawl through mud, but I'll use what I have.

During one of their visits to my parents' house, the conversation centered around the house hunting that mom and dad had done when they moved to the area 5 years ago. During that time they were living with Mama Jo. She would frequently go along to look at a house. One particular house was a $400K beauty (buys a lot in Indiana)situated on a river. Mom recounted details that she loved. At some point in the conversation mom looked over at Mama Jo and asked, "Mom, do you remember that house?" Mama Jo looked at her like my mom had gone crazy and replied, "Well, who could forget that?"

We all got a laugh, but the serious side is that the problem is still pestering her. We're asking the Lord to heal her completely and would appreciate your agreement in prayer for this lovely, yet feisty woman.