The Importance of Thomas

"Thomas was a cat, an ordinary cat that showed up at a not-so-ordinary time." So begins this story of a family dealing with the care of a parent with Alzheimer's. It outlines the upheaval and unexpected challenges that so many families face today when caring for a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer's. Nana made the choice to help her sister, Josephine, care for their mother, but this meant leaving her job and moving away from her children and grandchildren. This story also speaks to the challenges they faced to make a safe environment for their mother. But even more difficult for them was the day-to-day interaction with their mother who often forgot who they were and could quickly become agitated and fearful. They were grateful for the help they received from Hospice, but never expected that help would also come to them from a little lost cat. This little cat, who they called Thomas, became a caregiver himself, not only to their mother, but to Nana and Josephine.