A little gift from heaven can make a difference in someone’s life!
My older son Micheal introduced me to a classmate he went to school with. It turned out that she was a nurse with experience with dementia. In February and March 2024, she donated her time to be a care companion to my wife Kimberly A Frechette, who is battling Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia Stage 2.
Ironically, her name was Kimberly as well. So, she called my Kimberly “Miss Kimberly,” and Miss Kimberly called Kimberly “Kim.” And they get along excellent. But at the end of March, it was a sad day as we bid farewell to Kim, who took a job in Seattle for a three-month gig as a traveling nurse.
But not all was lost. She had her daughter Vivian come in for a day to watch her mom work with Miss Kimberly so she could take over for her mom for about six weeks while she was in between jobs.
Vivian had been here a couple of weeks when I discovered her middle name was Marie. When I talked to her about her middle name, I asked her if she knew that Miss Kimberly’s daughter, who she lost to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) on May 31, 1976, that her name was Michelle Marie.
Then Vivian said, “Her mom’s middle name was Michele.” At that moment, the hair on the back of my neck rose—a spiritual feeling that was hard to explain came over me.
I commented at that point, explaining why Kimberly remembers your name and your mom’s, especially when she has no short-term memory. It had to be her daughter who circumvented this journey from my son to your mom to you to Miss Kimberly.
Kim and Vivian have been a blessing to our uprooted environment, and Kimberly (my wife) and I (Leon, her husband) have adopted them as our new second family. The love and affection they share with my wife are hard to express, but watching them in action is impressive. If we could clone them many times over as “care companions to the world,” the world would be better for their sincere kindness.
Miss Kimberly’s little angel Michelle was busy at work taking care of her mom and making sure that she was okay while battling her disease. She helped me as the full-time caregiver while bringing two remarkable ladies into our lives. We are truly blessed with these exceptional individuals!
UPDATE: (06/26/2004)
As much as we hate to see a good thing end, we must accept the cards we are dealt. This Friday will be Vivian’s last day here as Kimberly’s blessed care companion. Her mom, who took the travel nurse position in Seattle early this year, got an offer that she could not refuse by taking an assistant director position with the company. Vivian was getting homesick, so she decided to go back to Seattle, where all her relatives and friends are, and move in with her mom.
Kimberly and I will miss both of them, but we wish them the best in the next chapter of their life!
Hi, I’m Vivian, and I helped care for Kimberly in the past. Caring for her helped encourage me to pursue senior care and grew a passion for memory care.
I now work for a bigger facility instead of being a one-on-one companion and although there are many differences in dementia, there are also many similarities between people affected by it, as well as healthy people who speak about it.
I have noticed how many people have limited understanding of the disease and do not work on the abilities that those affected by dementia still have. This is key! Many people with dementia still have fun, and can still communicate in their own ways, adaption is so important. But this is easier said than done when there is so much fatigue involved in caregiving. Having a team is so important but for those who can’t, we need to call for affordable health care and more understanding in dementia.
I would like to thank Leon for his care in making a page like this. Let’s not keep silent about the struggles of caring for dementia, as well as celebrate the successes.
Vivian, thanks for taking the time to comment on this post. I personally enjoyed what you did while you were here in Spokane the summer of 2024 with Kimberly. You have a special gift that allows you to bond and work with individuals with special needs. I’m glad you decided to stay in this field of memory care, and I wish you all the best!