By Andrew Edwards, EAN Staff Writer
If you know someone struggling with dementia or Alzheimer’s, then you can understand the toll that it can take on them, as well as their family.
Both diseases, which cause memory loss, trouble thinking, and confusion are typically diagnosed to those who are over the age of 60 – although it has been seen in younger individuals as well.
So when Patsy Moffett, previous owner of Patsy’s Pins and Needles in downtown Prattville, began showing signs of dementia, people in the community began to notice. In turn, Debra Pace, former owner of the New Black in downtown Prattville, decided to do something about it by stretching out a lending hand.
“When we moved the New Black to downtown Prattville, we met Patsy’s husband, Jules. He was the landlord for our building, but he also owned the property next to us, which was Patsy’s Pins and Needles at the time,” Pace said. “Patsy’s Pins and Needles was still in operation in February of last year, but she hadn’t worked there for several years because of her dementia. But Jules would bring her into the New Black from time to time and that was how I was able to meet her.”
Pace said she noticed the challenges that Patsy was dealing with, and was willing to come watch her while Jules went to work. She also came to understand that Patsy had sitters that were unsuitable for the job.
“There were sitters in the home that were not meeting my expectations, so I told the last one that they had that this wasn’t going to work,” Pace said. “Let me just keep her for a while. She can come to the store and hang out with us. After that, Patsy started to regularly come to the New Black and I would watch her during the day.”
Pace said that last year her daughter and son-in-law both took over duties at the New Black, which freed up more time for her to take care of Patsy. Ultimately, Debra decided to speak to Jules about a day program for his wife.
“Jules is a retired member of the Airforce and owns a hanger at the Elmore County airport. He doesn’t fly anymore but he still goes out there everyday and works on planes. I said to him, she needs a program that will keep her busy,” Pace said.
However, there were no such programs in the Prattville area. But this minor setback didn’t derail Jules, who was still sought to find a daytime center for Patsy.
“He said to me, if you’re really serious about this then lets a find a building around here and you can start one up,” Pace said.
After searching the area for a location for several weeks, Debra ultimately decided to ask Jules if she could use the building where Patsy’s Pins and Needles was – as store that had been there for the past 40 years.
“Jules was still running the location but I could tell that it was wearing him down, after all he is in his mid-80s. He had so many other things to do, on top of caring for Patsy. I went to him and asked him if I could buy the location for the daycare center and he allowed it,” Pace said.
After several months of renovations, Pace was finally able to get the building in workable conditions.
Thus, Patsy’s Partner’s in Care was born – a program for limited, independent adults during the day. Its hours are Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 5:30 pm and will accommodate up to 22 individuals who are dealing with dementia or other related diseases.
But Pace wanted everyone to know that this is far from a hospital.
“People who come still need to be able to use the restroom, still be able to eat, etc. And we really want them to be a part of the activities that we’ll have here. We’ve got a tea party scheduled in February once we get up and going. We’ll also be open one Friday night a month as a gift to our client’s families. They can drop their loved ones off and we’ll have games and a pizza party on those nights.”
Pace says that activities will be the key to helping her clients, because Dementia symptoms can be alleviated through a healthy diet alongside physical and mental activities.
“Most people think that dementia is hereditary but that’s just not the case. It’s actually less than three percent. I watched a documentary that said that berries, with their antioxidants, can help. Movement is also important, as well as new knowledge – which could be something as simple as reading a book. So, blueberries for the diet aspect, activities for movement, and books for new knowledge will all be something that will be a part of our program,” Pace said.
Pace also said that a doctor will be on staff as well as a nurse that will do a weekly check.
Ultimately, Pace said their goal was to make downtown Prattville a dementia friendly zone.
“I’m hoping to pull the downtown community together with this program and get everybody saying ‘let’s celebrate these people’s lives.”
Debra has kept many items from Patsy’s Pins and Needles that she has either hung on the walls or set in the windows for display. Some of which are Patsy’s old sewing materials, art boxes, and other crafts that she had collected throughout her life.
“Patsy still sits in her chair and looks out of the same window that she has for past 40 years of her life. She’s still in charge here. She still wants to say that’s it’s time to go, and when she says that she means it. This always means it’s time to wrap things up and get her home,” Pace said. “One day she turned to me in her chair and said, “what are we doing here?” and I said, Patsy, what do you want to do? She said, “I wanna have a tea party.” So, I told her, well let’s have a tea party, girl.”
Debra said that Patsy has been a gift and motherly figure to her and that her children have embraced her as a grandmother as well.
“Her spirit is just so pure and so sweet. We love Patsy more than she could ever know.”
It’s true, caring for those with dementia and other cognitive disorders can be difficult – for both parties. But nothing can bring you more joy than seeing that smile spread across their face as they get do what they love, even if it’s just as simple as sitting, gazing out by your favorite window from the past 40 years.
