I sent this email to Sophia Mas at Stewart-Marchman:
Hello, Sophia,
I am again copying my sister [name redacted] on this email.
I unfortunately do not expect my mom to snap back to her functioning self very quickly. It would be difficult for me to qualify exactly what “her functioning self” might be, because — although, to be sure, she has gotten progressively exponentially worse in the last few months — I do not know that in my lifetime she has ever NOT been overwhelmingly depressed. It has been at least two years since I have had a legitimate “conversation” with the person that I would recognize as my mother. I miss her so much; and it is so painful.
I think my little sister and I (and all our family, truthfully) simply always assumed that was “just the way mom is”. We have always understood at some level that she was damaged, but didn’t appreciate how severely until very recently because we had no frame of reference. (Recall the experiment with the rhesus monkeys.)
You said that my mom had just completed her afternoon nap. Where does she nap in the afternoon? Does she have an “assigned” bed? Does she have her own room or does she share it with someone else?
How often does my mom see Dr. Caliendo? Does he review her medications and progress on a daily basis?
Thank you again for your kindness,
David Vincent Gagne