The madness of Laila Fothergill

This is not a play by Alan Bennett. This is real life. If it were the former, it would be very clever, highly amusing and worth watching. As it’s the latter it’s rather sad, and yet still bizarrely amusing at times. Mum has Alzheimers although she doesn’t know it yet, and she isn’t ready for a care home, but she is having some problems with independent living. She has some ‘toys’ who she calls her babies, who she wraps up and keeps warm and feels the need to look after. She also thinks she has several people who she thinks are living in her house. She was recently getting very cross with the ‘woman who was in her bedroom’. This ‘woman’ could be seen in her full-length wardrobe mirror. Mum complained that this woman wore the same clothes, and it was difficult to get her to leave the bedroom. She gets very angry with this woman! The doctor suggested anti-psychotic drugs, but we thought we should try something practical first. So today, I got Toni to meet mother in Tesco’s café, while Barney and I snuck into her house with a couple of rolls of fablon to stick over her wardrobe mirror. We got the deed done, and then I went to meet mum and Toni. We returned to her house for tea and buns. We don’t yet know if mum has seen what we have done to her wardrobe….or if she realises that there is a difference…or what she thinks has happened….but we need to try to make her more content in her world. Is that so bad?