Last week Grandma had an appointment with the Neuro-Psych department of UCLA to finally see about what's been going on with her memory.
The fun began one night before when I arrived to spend the night because trying to get from my house to hers then to UCLA by 9am was just gonna be ridiculous. In the previous weeks I had been asking her about a medical packet she would be receiving from the Doctor's office but she had yet to receive anything until I noticed she was filling something out, luckily for her she had Just gotten it according to the lady that lives upstairs. So I didn't have to worry that she had misplaced it and couldn't remember ever receiving it.
I sat down with her to finish filling out the paperwork and was taking notice of the questions they were asking mostly trying to get a family history. I took over writing and began doing a little family digging of my own. I discovered that my Great-Grandfather was 20 years old than my Great-Grandmother, and he died when my grandma was 11. My Great Grandmother later married a different man and that is when they moved to Brooklyn, NY from Newbern, NC. According to her memory her father was shot, but she said he was 75 when he died so I'm unsure of those details. It also asked about her siblings, she had a brother who apparently was shot at a young age but she couldn't remember how long ago that was. I'm thinking he was also in his 40's. When we got down to her children I was able to fill that in on my own. Oldest son deceased at 46 and younger son living at age 53. Then I made a very disturbing correlation; father, brother, son all dead from a violent crime... I need to do some further investigating on this. I was able to get dates of birth for her Father and Brother so I'm curious to see what the death certificates say. Plus There is a whole side of the family that I have never met.
Wednesday morning arrived all too quickly but we made it just in time. We met with one of the Psych residents who interviewed both of us to elaborate on why we were here and what our concerns were. She was very nice and took extensive notes and then set me away and gave grandma a series of cognitive and memory tests, of which we will not see results for about 1 month. Great! After about an hour and a half of me wandering around the Westwood area she finally emerged in great spirits and was very proud of herself for doing so well in all the testing. She said the Dr. told her for a woman of her age she did pretty well. So we anxiously await what their findings will be and how we should proceed.
On our way home she told me about her tests, reading comprehension, memorization, numbers etc. all of which she couldn't remember enough of to tell me... but I guess that's how everyone feels after taking a long test. So time will tell us soon enough.
Now to back track for a minute and to find the humor in all of this. Earlier that morning while we were driving she saw a billboard that read: Droid Does Apps. She asked me what that meant so I briefly explained showing her my phone. She then said, "I have one of those" I was so confused by what I heard I didn't even know what to ask. She said my uncle had it and he was gonna show her how to use it later... NOW I'm not saying he can't figure it out but the man doesn't even have a computer or email so how they plan to use the phone is beyond me. I left the topic alone because I was pulling into the parking structure. Once we got back home the lady that lives upstairs was cooking in the kitchen and so we spoke briefly and she reminded me of the phone conversation from that morning. So I now awake asked, WHY do you have this phone. She responded "because it has some things that interest me" curious as to what that could possibly be I asked her to elaborate. She shooed me away telling me not to worry about it. I just thought it was hilarious and couldn't wrap my head around what she could use this phone for. I explained to her why I have my phone and hers was very similar, so WHY/WHAT did she plan on doing with it, especially since she has no intention of getting rid of her other very old and basic pay as you go phone. I explained to her that this is gonna be the iPod all over again! Another electronic device that is just sitting in the house collecting dust, but this one comes with a monthly payment. Her reason: Best Buy had a SALE!
Sometimes I just don't know what to do with this woman!
The saga continues...
The fun began one night before when I arrived to spend the night because trying to get from my house to hers then to UCLA by 9am was just gonna be ridiculous. In the previous weeks I had been asking her about a medical packet she would be receiving from the Doctor's office but she had yet to receive anything until I noticed she was filling something out, luckily for her she had Just gotten it according to the lady that lives upstairs. So I didn't have to worry that she had misplaced it and couldn't remember ever receiving it.
I sat down with her to finish filling out the paperwork and was taking notice of the questions they were asking mostly trying to get a family history. I took over writing and began doing a little family digging of my own. I discovered that my Great-Grandfather was 20 years old than my Great-Grandmother, and he died when my grandma was 11. My Great Grandmother later married a different man and that is when they moved to Brooklyn, NY from Newbern, NC. According to her memory her father was shot, but she said he was 75 when he died so I'm unsure of those details. It also asked about her siblings, she had a brother who apparently was shot at a young age but she couldn't remember how long ago that was. I'm thinking he was also in his 40's. When we got down to her children I was able to fill that in on my own. Oldest son deceased at 46 and younger son living at age 53. Then I made a very disturbing correlation; father, brother, son all dead from a violent crime... I need to do some further investigating on this. I was able to get dates of birth for her Father and Brother so I'm curious to see what the death certificates say. Plus There is a whole side of the family that I have never met.
Wednesday morning arrived all too quickly but we made it just in time. We met with one of the Psych residents who interviewed both of us to elaborate on why we were here and what our concerns were. She was very nice and took extensive notes and then set me away and gave grandma a series of cognitive and memory tests, of which we will not see results for about 1 month. Great! After about an hour and a half of me wandering around the Westwood area she finally emerged in great spirits and was very proud of herself for doing so well in all the testing. She said the Dr. told her for a woman of her age she did pretty well. So we anxiously await what their findings will be and how we should proceed.
On our way home she told me about her tests, reading comprehension, memorization, numbers etc. all of which she couldn't remember enough of to tell me... but I guess that's how everyone feels after taking a long test. So time will tell us soon enough.
Now to back track for a minute and to find the humor in all of this. Earlier that morning while we were driving she saw a billboard that read: Droid Does Apps. She asked me what that meant so I briefly explained showing her my phone. She then said, "I have one of those" I was so confused by what I heard I didn't even know what to ask. She said my uncle had it and he was gonna show her how to use it later... NOW I'm not saying he can't figure it out but the man doesn't even have a computer or email so how they plan to use the phone is beyond me. I left the topic alone because I was pulling into the parking structure. Once we got back home the lady that lives upstairs was cooking in the kitchen and so we spoke briefly and she reminded me of the phone conversation from that morning. So I now awake asked, WHY do you have this phone. She responded "because it has some things that interest me" curious as to what that could possibly be I asked her to elaborate. She shooed me away telling me not to worry about it. I just thought it was hilarious and couldn't wrap my head around what she could use this phone for. I explained to her why I have my phone and hers was very similar, so WHY/WHAT did she plan on doing with it, especially since she has no intention of getting rid of her other very old and basic pay as you go phone. I explained to her that this is gonna be the iPod all over again! Another electronic device that is just sitting in the house collecting dust, but this one comes with a monthly payment. Her reason: Best Buy had a SALE!
Sometimes I just don't know what to do with this woman!
The saga continues...
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