REFLECTIONS : The Jigsaw Puzzle
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
The lady with the coifed hair sits on her rollator , phone in hand , and parades back and forth in the hall each day . She passes by the entrance of the activity room but never enters nor joins her colleagues in their activities . It may be bingo , crafts or a cooking class . It may be a lecture on the history of Kentucky or Appalachia or a painting class . Flower arrangements ? Not that either . The staff tries its best to entice participation . Invitations to join are politely rejected with a smile .
She does talk on her phone off and on , and quietly joins in the brief table conversations at mealtimes .
Life in places called “ assisted living ” is a hodgepodge of elderly people with different degrees of intellectual , physical and monetary capabilities . Families take over decisions in most cases , over placements and care , not necessarily in conjunction with the impaired or unimpaired individual . One thing is almost sure . This could be the last abode of that mortal person in this world ! Do they know it ? Do they agree ?
What do you do with memories and possessions of a lifetime ? How to accept that one is no longer the proverbial decider of one ’ s actions and fate ? Do you want to share those feelings , or would you rather keep them to yourself – lock them up as too painful to reveal ?
To conjecture on our reticent rollator rider , could this apply ?
One morning she was found at the jigsaw table at the very end of the activity room quietly sorting the pieces of the current picture by color . She said her grandchildren used to make her do that in the past while they finished it .
Eureka ! She is sharing her life with us ?! Since then , she has spoken to others that congregate around that table . Who would have thought that a simple jigsaw puzzle was a key to open a beautiful past ?!
We never know , do we ? Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist .
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