Unexpected new chapter opens in book of kindness

There are times when we get a wee bit tired of negative stories, so I thought I’d share with you a recent fabulous experience — and perhaps it will brighten up someone’s day.

My husband was diagnosed with vascular dementia and he’s been a resident of a long-term-care residence for four years.

During this time, I’ve been most fortunate in being able to visit him on a daily basis, and we usually joined other residents in the common rooms. However, with the onset of the COVID pandemic, there have been periods of restrictive visitations which have created challenges — i.e., navigating Skype, etc.

Recently, visits have been allowed. However, they are limited to room visits only. So what to do to create an interesting and stimulating two-hour visit? It’s a challenge!

Well, after searching for ideas, I remembered that my husband enjoyed reading and was interested in games (Bridge, chess, etc.) However, he had changed due to dementia. So, what to read? I was challenged, but I eventually discovered a genuine interest for him. Children’s adventure stories like The Hardy Boys, Geronimo Stilton, some old classics, etc. I searched our home and found the Snakes and Ladders game and other board games that our children played with over the years. Success!

Unfortunately, I ran out of books. I read each of them a number of times, but the enjoyment was waning. What to do now? Neighbours came to the rescue, and especially Miss Mitchell (a retired schoolteacher), who reviewed her resources as well.

I decided to try some additional sources. I decided to contact the bookstore Chapters. I had difficulties going online so I called Chapters and asked for some help!

A representative named Kali asked for a profile of the person that required reading material. I said he was 89, had vascular dementia, was limited in his wheelchair use due to paralysis, that he was a retired academic with eight years of university background and that he had a terrific sense of humour.

I informed her of his current reading list and she suggested three books that I could add to our collection and said I could pick them up.

Great! How do I do this? She said that when I arrive at the store, park, phone and Victoria will be expecting me. She will bring the parcel to the car. So I did.

Victoria appeared and passed me the bag of books, and then I asked, “How do I pay? I have debit and credit cards.” She said no payment is required. WHAT? She said that this is a gift from Chapters! My gosh — we both teared up! Can you possibly imagine? A gift! I was shocked.

The next day, after a sleepless night reliving this whole wonderful experience and thinking of the kindness of these two representatives, I returned to the store, called Victoria, and when she came out I gave her a box of chocolates (which were individually wrapped to make sure that everything was safe) and again voiced my sincere gratitude for their support and care.

She then invited me into the store so I could say thank you to all the staff. Fantastic, eh?

This is a time for all of us to step back and be thankful for the support of friends and strangers who take a moment of their time to extend kindness to all!