My brother is amazing. One week he is in the ICU, within two weeks, he's chipper than ever!
I took him out for breakfast yesterday (a Saturday) and hew as unusually talkative. I had no problem making conversation with him at all. We talked about the Ukraine, the Oscars, etc. He was a pleasure to be with.
I cannot figure out what makes him tick. If I could turn on the switch at will, I would, of course.
On the other hand, I saw the movie, "Nebraska" last night. The main character, the old man, who is losing his faculties, really reminded me of my brother. The key aspect was movie characters asking him a question and it being clear that he was in another world and couldn't connect without repeated questioning. This is so like my brother most of the time. He is somewhere else in his head, who knows where. then there ws the irrationality of some of the old man's beliefs. It wasn't the irrationality that was the same it was the inability to just understand certain concepts.
The other thing that struck me about the movie were the reactions of the old man's caretakers. His wife was really angry, I identified more with the son. The transporting, the helping the old man walk, the picking him up after falling, etc. I was really struck by how mental illness/mental imparity (and in the movie's case, alchoholism) can so impair a family. The redeeming theme is the story of "Nebraska" was the love,c are, and concern that the son had for his father, despite his serious impairments. Any caretaker should go see this film.
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