So we were having a great evening, visiting and enjoying. I was going to cut up a pair of his thread bare jeans for patches. Tossed them on the floor for Buddy to smell and check out. I said to Wayne that Buddy is smelling your jeans.

He misunderstood and thought I said “smelling Jean”.

“He couldn’t be smelling Jean. She went away, ran away seems to me. It was dark one night and she ran into a field and I never saw her again.”

I was stunned but asked if he remembers Jean. “Yes, she ran away. Something in my brain tells me she ran away.”

So I asked, “Who is looking after you?” He looked at me, “I don’t know. Should I know?”

Gently, I told him that I am Jean.

“Are you? Man it’s hard when your brain gets screwed up. So is it Alzheimer’s I have? Is that what is causing this?”

We talked for a long while, the conversation going no where.

It’s been coming but very difficult to hear him verbalize that he really doesn’t know me. The fog lifted for a bit when he asked about AD.