Camille Figurelli

A Gift of Time is rest- restructuring program.

Camille was a study in contradictions. She loved butterfly jewelry but was deathly afraid of insects, including butterflies that invaded her space. She hated meetings but loved meeting people. On her morning walks she would stop and talk with just about everybody she met. She absolutely trembled at speaking in front of an audience—even just introducing herself to a small group—but she loved engaging people in conversation at parties. She was disdainful of physical fitness programs—but she took up rollerblading in her late 50s and continued that activity well into her 60s. In fact, she taught one of her granddaughters how to rollerblade during her visits to Sun City.

We once had a placard in the house that said, “Grandmothers are just little girls with gray hair.” That was Camille to a T.

I remember when Camille received the report that she had mild cognitive impairment. She cried because she was afraid --- realizing what was already happening to her memory and knowing what Alzheimer’s did to her mother and her favorite aunt. I took her in my arms and told her somehow we would get through this together.

Little did I know then what lay ahead for both of us—or how many mistakes I would make as her caregiver?

The words of one of the students she mentored upon hearing of her passing: "My mentor was like a grandmother to me. She was the most selfless person and loving caring person I have ever encountered in my entire life. She came to my school once a week for 12 years to visit and have lunch with me, never missing a day. On holidays she would show up with presents for my siblings and me. In the summer she made sure to take me out and write plenty of letters."

As the disease advanced, she lost the ability to perform everyday living activities. Then, she needed constant attention and care. Every day I had to help, and most times, coax her, to take a shower, brush her teeth, or comb her hair. She needed help getting dressed and undressed and constant vigilance regarding hygiene. At times she did not know who I was so she would resist doing what I asked of her. From the time she got up until she went to bed, I tried to keep her engaged—finding TV shows for her to watch, playing cards and doing puzzles together, and taking several walks during the day. No activity kept her occupied for long. At night she would sometimes get out of bed and wander around the house or would wake me up because she thought someone was in the house. One night I found her in the garage hiding behind the garbage cans unable to tell me why she was there or from whom she was hiding.

I believe if A Gift of Time had been in existence at the time, placing my wife in a full-time care facility could have been deferred for a while longer. I don’t know if the “while longer” would have been weeks or months or more. But A Gift of Time would have meant her being with me at home that much longer.