Just thought I would share this. I do hospice volunteer work at a nearby nursing home. I was there the other day to visit two of my patients. I came across one of my "Girlfriends" , as my wife refers to them, in her wheelchair talking to another lady in a wheel chair. Both have advanced dementia but they were chatting away in word salad. It went something like this:
First Lady
Well if they do that again my painting is really bad, that young girl better watch herself.........
Second Lady
I like the Swiss steak better, my husband won't eat the strip, so......the cat ran off my girl liked to never got her and oh boy, this weather, I just don't know......
And this went on and on. They were having a ball, sort of like two little girls playing tea party. They were clearly reliving some of their past selves, having important conversation and being social.
I sat with them for awhile and tried to enter the conversation a couple times only to get annoyed looks from them. This was clearly a private conversation. So I went down the hall and visited another lady for awhile.
When I came back through later, they were both sound asleep with their wheelchairs almost touching. Socializing does wear one out.....
I ask one of the staff if she had placed the two together. She said no, they will wiggle their wheel chairs around so they can "Chat". I don't think they understand a thing that either says but they truly enjoy going through the motions of socializing.