Yesterday, Robert told me he went to the park with Day Program. He loves going to the park and, over the last few weeks, has told me about eating lunch there and flying kites. A while ago, he told me his kite went “way, way high in the sky.” I told the Day Program counselor how much Robert enjoyed flying the kites and he told me he had difficulty getting Robert to let go of the kite he was enjoying it so much!
Robert told me about his most recent trip. “We went to the park. The guy set up a . . .uh, uh,” Robert searched for the word. Umbrella, I offered?
“Yes, umbrella. Thank you.”
No problem. Did you sit under the umbrella and eat lunch?
“No. It went up high in the sky.”
Oh. You mean it was a kite? Did you fly a kite again?
Pause.
“What’s a kite?”
It takes my breath away when Robert doesn’t know about things he has always known and still knew a week ago.
His voice is different when he asks this. His voice was different a couple of weeks ago when he asked what his roommate’s name is. I think he knows when his brain is not working quite right and he knows he should know this. I suspect he realizes he used to know this.
A kite is a thing attached to a string that someone holds and then lets it fly way up in the sky.
“Yes, it was a kite. Thank you for telling me.”
Still, that same voice.
It’s been haunting me since yesterday.
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