Still Solving the Puzzle: A Long-Term Care Ombudsman Story

I met two women in the day room of an assisted living facility. They were sitting together on a couch.

I introduced myself, told them my name, and explained that I was the long-term care ombudsman—a resident advocate. I said I was there to see if they needed help with anything and asked if I could sit in the chair across from them.

They agreed.

“I’m Beth,” one said when I asked their names.

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“Springfield.”

“Oh, that’s lovely,” I said. “I like the lake there.”

Her response came easily. Her words were clear, her voice strong. She wasn’t searching for language. She smiled.

Then she asked, “What’s your name?”

“Carol.”

“Where are you from?”

“North Carolina.”

“Are there mountains there?”

“Not really,” I said. “Lots of trees.”

I turned to the other woman.

“And where are you from?”

“Clinton,” Mary said.

“That’s nice.”

She looked at me. “Where are you from?”

“North Carolina.”

“Are there mountains there?”

“No,” I said again. “But there are lots of trees.”

Then Beth asked, “What’s your name?”

“Carol.”

“Where are you from?”

“North Carolina.”

“Are there mountains there?”

This conversation replayed—again and again. Maybe ten times. Each time, it was brand new to them.

Every so often, while Mary and I were repeating our exchange, Beth would suddenly blurt out something that seemed completely unrelated.

“LICKING THE BOWL CLEAN.”

“LEND A HELPING HAND.”

I couldn’t figure out where the phrases were coming from until I glanced at the wall behind me.

Across from the couch, a large television was mounted.

Wheel of Fortune was on.

She wasn’t being random.

She was finishing the puzzle and calling out the answers before the contestants did.

She couldn’t remember my name for more than a few seconds. She couldn’t remember where I was from.

But she could still recognize patterns, finish familiar phrases, and solve word puzzles faster than most of us.

Impressive.

Dementia is a tricky beast.

It takes some things completely away—and leaves other things astonishingly intact.

And sometimes, in the middle of forgetting, it lets brilliance shine through.

To protect resident privacy, identifying details in this story have been changed. The situations described reflect real issues encountered in long-term care.