My wife’s mom has Alzheimer’s disease. Earlier tonight, we left her parents alone at their Airbnb while we took the kids to urgent care for ear infections. Her dad fell asleep on the couch. Her mom wandered out the door… 🧵
We rushed back as soon as we heard she was missing. It was dark and raining steadily. Her coat was still on the rack. Her wallet still on the table. I ran up and down the block asking neighbors if they had seen her. We got in our cars and combed the entire neighborhood. No luck.
I decided to check out a shopping center a few blocks away hoping that she had been drawn to the bright lights. I drove by the front entrance of the grocery store and, amazingly, saw her through the window sitting at a table in the coffee shop with a woman I didn’t know.
I parked and ran into the store. I found them sipping tea and talking cheerfully. I told the woman who I was and thanked her for watching after my mother-in-law. The woman and her partner had noticed her in the parking lot looking confused, so they had guided her into the store.
They helped her shop for bread and cookies and then paid for them since she had no money or credit cards. They sat with her while the store employees scrambled to locate her caretaker. They were exactly the people you would hope to find in this situation.
I thanked them for treating her with such warmth and dignity. They wouldn’t let me pay them back for the groceries or tea. We don’t know their names or anything else about them, but we will always be thankful that they identified our problem and stopped to help.
There are good people left in the world, and our family is eternally grateful. ❤️
@davethompsonMD @threadreaderapp roll up please
@davethompsonMD Reminds me of this story my colleagues produced for the My Unsung Hero podcast/radio series. Definitely good people out there. npr.org/2022/02/08/107…
@davethompsonMD Bless those caring folks and bless your family ❤️
@davethompsonMD This is so wonderful. ♥️
@davethompsonMD Your story brought me to tears. So glad for the happy ending.