Nurse devises perfect plan to revive retired teacher's spirit amid Alzheimer's battle and it worked like a charm

Sometimes small yet thoughtful gestures are enough to make a significant difference in someone's life without requiring a lot of time or effort. This was demonstrated by a nurse who supported X user Drew McCaskill’s mother as she struggled with Alzheimer's and was stuck in the past. Sharing the background in a post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, “My mom has Alzheimer's, but she was an award-winning teacher for 30 years.” 

McCaskill mentioned that recently, his mother had been waking up and getting ready for school, completely forgetting that she was no longer teaching, due to the impact of her condition. Commonly, people with Alzheimer’s tend to forget and go back to any habitual practice based on specific memories. Apart from communicating with patients to make them understand, there’s not much caregivers and doctors can do in such cases. However, the woman’s nurse came up with a wholesome idea to help her out. “Her AM nurse started giving her printing emails to edit. ‘Grading papers’ is her new joy,” McCaskill exclaimed.

He shared a picture of his mother sitting with a bunch of papers, intently grading the sheets. She seemed too engrossed in her papers and duty to be worried about her health and any other concerns. The nurse had given her something to look forward to every day instead of drifting towards confusion. “I thank God for her and her caregivers. Joy is always possible,” he added. 

In a comment, the man added how grateful he was that the nurse empathized with his mother instead of sympathizing with her. “She saw my mom not as a sick old lady... but as a person with skills to contribute. She gave her this new joy and capacity even amid her incapacity.” he wrote. 

He added that he himself underestimated his mother and had a difficult time understanding her till the nurse’s gesture changed his outlook. "She saw my mother as half full not half empty… and I thank her because I haven’t always seen her that way,” McCaskill wrote. He explained in another comment, how the gesture was a simple one, yet had a heavy impact on his mum. “Knowing she’s safe and that people are thinking about what will make her feel useful and in control of her life even just a little bit more humbles me. I don’t know that I would have thought to do that for her. That simple thing that makes her feel smart again. So grateful.”

In threads that followed, he even added how he had seen his mother’s life change over the years and how this simple act contributed to it. “She still wants to look forward to things and contribute, she’s still here,” he exclaimed. His post also prompted people to tweet in appreciation of the nurse's thoughtfulness. @DocJennifer remarked, “Beautiful example of how to enter the world of a person with Alzheimer’s.” @Katiephang wrote, “It takes a very special kind of soul to have the patience and the love to give as much purpose and dignity as possible when Alzheimer’s steals that from our loved ones.”