Charlie And Midge -Chapter 12

Charlie And Midge

A Novel

By Paul McCann

Chapter 12

 

The Mystery Of Hello And Goodbye

 

 As winter came the snow lay thick around Safe Harbour and inside the church hall the locals sat wrapped up in their woollens . It was tha6t time for making Christmas hampers to be handed around among the needy people in the community . There were mothers and older girls with their coloured scarfs and hats and the men folk and young lads wearing pom pom hats and winter jackets .   .
Charlie and Midge were in among the crowed packing things in boxes and wrapping the boxes with pretty Christmas paper .

“How’s things going there Charlie .“

asked Bobby the president of the Happy Safe Harbour Christmas Community
and Charlie said .

"Yes hello Bobby . Things are standing well so far . No dramas . As you see we’ve dozens of hampers packed , wrapped and ready to go. “

 Bobby replied .

“That’s exactly what I like to hear Charlie .Have you time for a quick chat ?

Charlie said ,
" Sure what’s on your mind Bobby? “

"Sorry to bother you as I can see you’re busy and all that so I’ll try not to talk too much Charlie . I'm watching my watch every second just to make sure I don’t talk to much "
Said Bobby .

Charlie looked straight into Bobby’s face and saw he was indicating they move outside to have a talk . So as Bobby led the way Charlie followed and when they were both outside Bobby coughed a few times .

Charlie asked ,.

“Are you ok there Bobby “

and Bobby replied .

"Sure isn’t the snows thick this year Chalie?” and Charlie said

“Sure its thick all right and even looks whiter than usual Bobby “

"It’s a great effort everyone’s putting in with the hampers  ."

Charlie said .
"It’s all about the teamwork Bobby ."

Bobby said  .

“I was wanting to talk to you about Midges Daddy “

There was a lull for a moment and Charlie asked ,

"What is it Bobby ".

"He’s been noticed by some folk , doing strange things Charlie . "
Came the  reply . .

"How do you mean , strange ? ."
Said Charlie .

"Bobby never answered and answered the question another way” .

"I’m not one to say and like its none of my business but has Paddy Powers ever been assessed by a doctor recently ?”

Charlie replied,

“Well the thing is with the cold weather set in now , Midge and myself haven’t been to the farm for months . Is there a problem we don’t know about ?”

"The reason I called you our was I never wanted to upset Midge by talking about Paddy but you will need to have him assessed by a doctor as soon as you can “

“Charlie looked worried and asked ,

“What’s been going on Bobby “

Looking at his watch then he stared ,

“Charlie , he’s seeing things that aren’t there and talking nonsense all the time when people go to the farm “ 

Charlie fidgeted and looked uneasy and said ,

“Seeing things , like what “?

“Like spaceships and aliens Charlie “

“Does Midge’s Mammy know about this ?”

Charlie asked and Booby replied ,
“Yes she’s very aware things aren’t  right but she‘s just making out like nothing’s wrong “

Charlie was shocked to hear this and said ,

“ So is Paddy’s talking nonsense all the time ?”

Bobby replied ,

“That’s what I’ve been told Charlie .”

“To be honest Bobby I should have known  something wasn’t right as every time we visited the farm recently there was always an excuse about Paddy’s absence . He was either too busy to come say hello or he was sleeping “

“ When people have gone to the farm they have said they heard him screaming out “

“Screaming for what  Bobby ?”

“For help. “

Came the reply.

Charlie continued to throw questions and Bobby kept looking at his watch  and said .
"What do you think is going on there Bobby “"

Bobby looked closely at Charlie and said .
"I don't know to be sure as I’m not a doctor but have you heard about the second childhood Charlie ?”

"Didn't they say that was like having dementia ?”

Charlie said and Bobby rep[lied ,

"Charlie I’m reaching out my hand to you and , if there’s anything we can do for you and Midge let me know  .We better get back inside . It’s freezing out here “

They both shook hands and Charlie said ,

:”Thank you for letting me know about this . We’ll go and have a  look into what’s been happening ?’

When Charlie went back inside the hall , tea and sandwiches was being served for the volunteers  .

Charlie went over and sat with Midge at the table. Everyone was chatting away and there was laughter being shared .

Midge could see Charlie seemed troubled and she tried to make some conversation with Charlie .

“ The halls looking well Charlie”

She said and Charlie said

“Everyone seems happy here Midge “

Charlie had a blank expression in his face that told Midge something wasn’t right and then she said

"Are you feeling unwell Charlie “

“Well Midge its just I heard something and now I’m a little upset “

“Maybe we should go home now Charlie . “

Now Midge knew something was wrong because Charlie would never get upset for nothing  .Suddenly Charlie got up and slowly began to talk .

“I hope you pardon us everybody but I’m not feeling the best and think Midge and I might call it a day “

Bobby stood up and said ,

“Not a problem Charlie, I’ll bring the bus to the front door and run you and Midge home :”

Bobby left the hall and shortly returned with the community bus . Nothing was said on the journey and Charlie thanked Bobby when the bus pulled up  their home .

"I'm sorry for your trouble Charlie . If you need anything just let me know ."
Bobby said .

Charlie wasn't in a good mood so he just turned and walked away to the front door . As they both walked inside the door Charlie put his arms around Midge and said ,

"I’ve just been told your Daddys not well . Sorry Midge ?"

Midge looked back at Charlie and said ,
"What do you mean  . “ She looked worried .

A little tear trickled from Charlies right eye . He spoke with a tome of kindness in his voice .
"Midge come over and sit down with me and I’ll tell you what I know "

"Oh Charlie , Is it serious ? “.

Charlie answered ,
“Nothings confirmed yet but it could be that your Daddy has a condition called dementia. We won’t know anything until he’s been assessed. “

Midge replied ,

“How’s Mammy Charlie and why wasn’t I told before now ? “

As they both sat down Charlie continued .
"Because your Mammy’s been hiding the fact he’s not well , She been keeping it a secret for a while now Midge . “

Midge said
"I can’t believe this . Dementia Charlie . Is there treatment that can sure it ?

“No Midge , It’s sad to watch what it can do to those we love "

"I'll tell you what Charlie . We’re going over right now to get this sorted “

“I'll get the taxi to take us Midge . Just pack a few things in a bag and we’ll go to the farm . Midge went into eh bedroom to start packing and Charlie organized the taxi /

Charlie and Midge were soon on their way to the farm and before you know it they were knocking at the front door of the farmhouse . No one came to answer the door so Midge started screaming out .

“Mammy its Midge . We’re here at the front door . “

After a while , Midge’s Mother came to the door and said ,

“Hello my darling . How lovely to see you both . “

But her mother was reluctant to let them come inside . She just stood there at  the door talking . Then Midge said ,

“Aren’t you going to let us come inside Mammy? “

 .“Well my love , the house is a mess .”

She said and Midge replied

“We don’t care about that Mammy . We just want to see you and Daddy ”

As soon as the door was opened up they smelt a stench of urine within and  saw rubbish everywhere they went in piles on the floor . Then they heard the screaming of Midge Father calling out for help ‘

“ Midge and Charlie went running to see what was wrong “

When they saw the state he was in and how much weight he had lost both of them stood there in shock and Midge said ,

“ Daddy what’s going on ?“

“They sunk the ship and I’ve been trying to get everyone to safety “

Midge’s Mother intervened and winked her eye to Midge and Charlie and said

“ Its ok Paddy , everyone is safe on the lifeboats now .“

Then she sat down next to her husband on a chair and spoke to him about memories of the past . That seemed to settle Paddy for a while and then she gave him a tablet to put him to sleep . After doing that she looked at Midge and Charlie and said ,

“It’s very crucial we don’t tell the doctor about this because they will only sent him into one of those asylums and we’ll never see him again “

Midge put her arms around her Mother and cried . After a while they both voiced out how they felt and opinion about getting some treatment or an assessment made on Paddy .

Charlie said ,

‘Dementia is affecting about one third of people over 65 years of age “

 Midges mother replied ,

“Dementia , I’ve never heard of it . “

Midge said ,

“Mammy I was told that many people have dementia . Not just Daddy “

Midges mother said ,”

“So those people  are sick then “

Charlie handed over some leaflets about dementia he had been able to find and handed them over to Midges mother saying  ,

“Here’s some information about dementia that might help “

Mrs Powers  took the leaflets and part of her still refused to believe her husband of over 60 years had dementia .

Charlie and Midge continued to talk to her in a positive reassuring way about the condition and the more Charlie kept his cool and shared his knowledge about dementia , eventually what he said made sense . Suddenly Midge’s Mother made a statement and realized she needed help to look after her husband . She stood proudly before them and said .

“It’s hard for me to see Paddy now the way he is and I know it’s not going to go away. At first I though it would just pass but now its getting worse . I’ve been hiding him away when people come to the door and to be honest I was lost in a panic of what I could do to help him . I have a friend who knows the chemist and she was able to get me these tranquilizers for your Daddy . "

Midge nodded her head and spoke softly .

‘Mammy I’m so proud of you for what you’ve done but now its time for to ask for help from others , Charlie and I will start to clean up the mess around the house and we’ll ask someone for advise about Daddy’s condition “

Her mother took a deep sigh of relief and the tears began to flow .Charlie and Midge offered hugs and words of comfort .   After that moment the acceptance of Paddy’s condition was mush easier to take . Then life on the Powers Farm started to change as Midge her Mother and Charlie began to notice and document the everyday  behaviours of Paddy .

There were placed on a waiting list to have an assessment made by the community health team and in that time they all did their best to look after him and restore some tidiness in the farmhouse again . Everything was being managed quite well until the day Paddy went missing . They started to search around the house and the sheds and when there was no sign of him Midges Mother called the police who started a search for him . They continued to look all over the farm but there was no sign of him anywhere . Some of the locals got involved with the search and it was Mr Dowling who saw him wandering around the road near his grocery store . He looked lost and a little frightened  . He managed to get him into the car and drove him home where Mrs Powers . Midge and Charlie were all eagerly waiting for him .Now that the police were involved the appointment for his assessment was immediately approved and they took Paddy in a taxi to the medial centre for his mental health assessment test .

The results of the mental state examination confirmed Paddy had a cognitive disease most probably dementia and it was already in at a middle stage level . It was considered that he should be placed into a care facility to help with his condition because it was already at a stage where his care could not be maintained in his home environment . It was hard for Paddy’s family to hand him over into a nursing home after all then years they had known and loved him . It was a hard call however the best way ahead for Paddy and all concerned  . Now they had to find a suitable home for his on going everyday health care  . They started to look around at all the nursing homes and what kind of environment and the provision of care they offered for sufferers of dementia . Finding a suitable home was difficult . The hello and goodbye principle was an unknown territory Paddy’s family were coming to terms with . 

For those with dementia they were making an exit from the place they had known  seemed unfair , some would even say cruel , but Paddy and his family were facing that hellos and goodbye separation after dementia had struck . 

One beautiful sunny morning they brought Paddy into his new home and the medication that was being provided for Paddy made it a lot easier for that initial handing over process .  

Charlie and Midge were there supporting in every way they could to ensure that regular visits to the nursing home would be put in place and a check with nursing care staff on his care plan and any behavioural changes that would present .

They left some of Paddy’s favourite photographs little ornaments to be placed in his  room .  Each time Charlie and Midge would visit Paddy the less attached to them he had become . He always wandered around , not even knowing who they were .

The staff at the nursing home showed compassion and told them not to worry, it was normal for people with dementia not to recognise family members .

The came the day Paddy passed away and although the death was sad , it brought a release for everyone knowing he was at peace now and had finally gone home to rest . 
The nursing staff were very helpful and understood how they were feeling as they had dealt with these situations many times before . The nursing home it easy for Charlie, Midge and Mrs Powers to move into a new stage in their lives without Paddy living with dementia

 

End of Chapter 12

Charlie And Midge

A Novel - By Paul McCann

 

link to chapter 13

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/charlie-and-midge-chapter-13

 

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