My mother was diagnosed with early onset dementia.
She was having trouble remembering small things, but with reminders, she could still live on his own.
Last week, I was thinking his living alone was no longer viable. She called me and told me the Heating and Air Conditioning specialist bamboozled her. I thought he may have overcharged her, or done something that made the bill higher than he expected. She told me he replaced the Heating and Air Conditioning system and she hadn’t been told. I frowned, because no one had said she needed to have a new Heating and Air Conditioning system for me, but mom often forgot to provide me with these details. I called his Heating and Air Conditioning supplier and asked what had happened. I knew Daphne, the owner’s partner, and he told me he hadn’t sent an Heating and Air Conditioning specialist to my mom’s house. I trusted Daphne because we had been friends since second grade. I told him I would call him back once I got to mom’s and checked to see what he was talking about. Mom seemed surprised to see me there and welcomed me like he hadn’t seen me in months, when it had only been about eighteen hours. I asked her what was wrong with the Heating and Air Conditioning system. She told me they sent the wrong Heating and Air Conditioning specialist to the house, and he replaced the a/c and the heating system for her. When she showed me the paperwork, I had no words. The paper was for the Heating and Air Conditioning system he had installed nearly ten years ago, and she was trying to pay the bill. I had to explain it wasn’t a bamboozle, but just confusion.