{"id":566,"date":"2025-05-25T18:07:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T23:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/?page_id=566"},"modified":"2025-05-25T18:50:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T23:50:58","slug":"reconnecting-with-friends","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/reconnecting-with-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"Reconnecting with Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

My mother\u2019s retail business, importing and exporting goods between Guatemala and Chicago, required frequent shipping services. She had used one company throughout her many years in business, Lorenzana.<\/a>\u00a0I didn\u2019t know much about the company, but my mother\u2019s products were always picked up and delivered by the same man. Throughout the years, she formed a friendship with the man as they frequently found themselves on the same planes travelling between the two countries for their respective businesses.<\/p>\n

As my mother\u2019s Younger Onset Alzheimer\u2019s symptoms set, one of the first things she lost was her ability to manage her business. Her last trip was back in 2003, which she went on because we insisted. We wanted her to see a neurologist in Guatemala.<\/p>\n

A few months ago my father and I looked up Lorenzana. We wanted to get shipping pricing for some things we were planning to send to family members still living in Guatemala. We found the company, still in business and located nearby.<\/p>\n

It was a Saturday when I made the trip. The same day everyone else decided to stop by as well! Luis, my husband, dropped me off at the office to go find someone to speak to about prices, then he and Mom drove to find a parking spot.<\/p>\n

On my way back to the car, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man my mother had done business with those many years before. He had spotted my mother in the backseat and was walking towards the car.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u00a1Mi amiga!\u201d he said. \u201cShe was in the car with you! How do you know her?\u201d he asked. \u201cShe disappeared!\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t recognize me, but he was eager to talk with my mom.<\/p>\n

I was concerned Mom would not recognize him and he would not understand. \u00a0I told him her \u2018disappearance\u2019 was due to illness and his face dropped. \u00a0 Through the window of the car he said hello to Mom. She smiled and said hello back, but without recognition. He said, \u201cCome on. We\u2019re friends!\u201d But she just nodded.\u00a0 I could feel his pain and confusion.\u00a0I got into the car and we drove away.<\/p>\n

I was surprised that the man had recognized my mother from such a distance and through the car window. And, that he was so eager to speak with her again. It was painful for me, as I knew the man wanted to reconnect with Mom, but that was something Alzheimer\u2019s left her unable to do.<\/p>\n

I was struck by how much the man cared despite the expanse of time that had passed. I think it was not only a testament to the type of person this man was, but also to the strength of the relationships my mother formed throughout her life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2190 Back to blog<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My mother\u2019s retail business, importing and exporting goods between Guatemala and Chicago, required frequent shipping services. She had used one company throughout her many years in business, Lorenzana.\u00a0I didn\u2019t know much about the company, but my mother\u2019s products were always picked up and delivered by the same man. Throughout the years, she formed a friendship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-blog.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-566","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":588,"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/566\/revisions\/588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacareillinois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}