Chapter 98 Sanatorium
At Zhi'an Nursing Home, Chi Xia and Luo Xun, led by a nurse, went to the room of Zhou Wanrou's mother Zheng Lanshu.
"Aunt Zheng's room is on the fifth floor, closest to the corridor."
As the nurse walked by, she said, "That room has the biggest balcony. She likes it the best."
Luo Xun nodded and asked her, "She came to the sanatorium two years ago, right? How often does Zhou Wanrou visit her? Does she come often? Is she alone or with her husband?"
The nurse laughed, her face full of admiration: "Come to think of it, Aunt Zheng had already shown signs of this illness three years ago. I heard from Miss Zhou that at first she hired a nanny to look after her at home, but she was always unable to take good care of her. Later, someone introduced her to our nursing home, and she thought of sending the old lady here."
"So Zheng Lanshu came to the sanatorium three years ago?" Chi Xia retracted his gaze from downstairs and asked her.
The nurse said, "If I must say, he was sent here three years ago, but Miss Zhou couldn't bear to leave Aunt Zheng, so she only stayed in our nursing home for two weeks a month, fearing that the old lady would not get used to it. It was not until two years ago that the old lady's condition worsened and she started living in the nursing home permanently. Miss Zhou is a filial child. She comes twice a week, and every time she comes, she brings the child with her. The old lady loves her grandson very much. As for her husband, he is probably busy with work, but he comes occasionally."
As she said this, the three of them walked to the door of Zheng Lanshu's room. The door was open. The nurse knocked on the door and called out "Auntie Zheng" enthusiastically, but when she leaned in, she didn't see the old lady.
"Ah, the nurse should be taking them down to distribute food."
The nurse checked the time and said, "Auntie Zheng's digestion is not very good. She has to go downstairs to walk around after every meal."
Chi Xia and Luo Xun observed the house. Everything in the house seemed to have been carefully selected. There was no unified style, but rather a strong sense of personal preference.
"The things in this room should all have been bought by Zhou Wanrou, right?"
Chi Xia touched the cushion on the chair and gently pressed the bed. It was soft and clean, and the sheets smelled faintly of laundry detergent.
When her eyes moved to the wall, she and Luo Xun saw a photo of Zhou Wanrou and her mother at the same time. In the photo, Zhou Wanrou was holding her son Pei Xi, and the three of them were smiling happily, especially Pei Xi, who looked very likable.
The nurse's voice sounded: "Yes, Miss Zhou was afraid that the old lady would not be used to living here, so she redecorated the room. The old lady likes it very much. But Miss Zhou hasn't visited the old lady for three months. In these three months, only her husband has visited twice."
Twice … Luo Xun and Chi Xia exchanged glances, and he asked the nurse: "Have you been here this month?"
"No……"
The nurse shook her head and said, "We also asked him why Miss Zhou hadn't come for a while. He just told us that something happened at home and he was too busy, so we didn't ask any more questions."
Chi Xia asked again: "Zhou Wanrou hasn't come for such a long time, will the old lady... um... will she want to look for her and her grandson?"
Hearing her ask this, the nurse sighed and said, "Oh, it's not just once or twice, she makes trouble almost every week. But the old lady's condition is getting worse and worse. For them, they can't remember the current things clearly, but the things in the past are getting clearer and clearer. This is also the characteristic of our disease. There is nothing we can do about it."
As the three of them were talking, the nurse heard someone talking and was delighted: "Hey, judging from the noise, it must be the old lady who is back."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw someone helping Zheng Lanshu to the door. The nurse smiled as soon as she saw him. "Eh? Doctor Xie, you're the one who brought Aunt Zheng back again. Where's Xiaoli? Where did she go?"
The doctor smiled and said, "Aunt Zheng recognized the wrong person again, so I sent her back."
After he finished explaining, he said to Zheng Lanshu, "Mom, I'm going to work now. Can I come to see you after get off work?"
Zheng Lanshu stared blankly, and after a pause, he nodded and patted his hand: "Okay, Xinlu, you have to get off work quickly and come back to see me earlier."
The nurse whispered to Chi Xia and Luo Xun, "The old lady mistook our doctor for her son-in-law. This is very common in nursing homes. Many elderly people often mistake the doctors and nurses in the hospital for their family members."
The old lady let go of her hand, and the doctor nodded to Chi Xia and Luo Xun as a greeting, then turned and left.
Suddenly, there were several more people in the room. Zheng Lanshu stared at Chi Xia and Luo Xun blankly. She shook her head, and suddenly her eyes lit up. She happily took Luo Xun's arm and said, "Ximin, you're back. Where's our daughter? It's time for our daughter to finish school. Did you pick her up?"
Luo Xun stood there, not knowing how to respond.
The nurse sighed, feeling distressed and amused: "The old lady is treating you like her husband when he was young."
Ximin, Zhou Ximin, yes, this is the name of Zhou Wanrou’s father.
"Why don't you speak?"
Zheng Lanshu pulled Luo Xun towards the balcony and said, "Ximin, look, from our balcony, you can see the mountains. It's so beautiful when it snows in winter. Nannan loves it."
The nurse reminded Luo Xun from behind: "Sir, please answer her. If you don't, the old lady won't give up. If you talk to her, she will be happy."
Luo Xun's body tensed up, he swallowed his saliva, his expression complicated, he spoke haltingly: "Ah... OK... I like it, it's beautiful, very good."
Zheng Lanshu didn't care what he said. She took Luo Xun's arm, leaned her head gently over, and looked into the distance with a happy face.
The nurse stood with Chi Xia and whispered, "Hey, most of the elderly people living in this nursing home are like this. Please don't be surprised."
"It's okay, I understand."
Chi Xia was not surprised. Her senior sister's mother, Lin Shuang, was an Alzheimer's patient. She had visited her in the nursing home many times. Like Zheng Lanshu, what she remembered most clearly were the memories of the past. Now she could not remember who her senior sister was.
But occasionally he would talk about his senior sister's little nephew Guoguo, mistaking him for his son.
Over there, the old lady suddenly let go of Luo Xun's arm. She turned around and searched the room as if she was looking for something, muttering, "Xiao Xixi is coming soon. Where is the little toy I prepared for him?"
She searched around the house and suddenly saw Chi Xia again. The old lady stood in front of her and was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, tenderness and kindness appeared on her face. She grabbed Chi Xia's hand again: "Rou Rou, you are here. Where is Xixi? Why can't I see Xixi? Was he taken away by his grandmother again? I prepared a gift for him..."
She started crying as she spoke: "Xixi is not used to going to the countryside. You should bring him back. You should bring him back quickly. He will have diarrhea if he goes to the countryside, and he won't be able to eat enough."
Chi Xia was also stunned, but she had a little more experience than Luo Xun. She patted the old lady's hand and said in a friendly tone, "Okay, I 'll , don't worry."
"no!"
The old lady suddenly shook her hand away, her face anxious and angry: "You have to go right away! Xixi can't stay there!"
Chi Xia glanced at Luo Xun and said, "Okay, okay, I'll go right away."
"Go quickly!"
The old lady sat on the chair, looking very angry, but her tone softened in an instant, even crying: "Rou Rou, they will bully Xi Xi, go and bring him back, mom will help you, okay?"
Chi Xia seemed to see Yang Shujun through her.
She also fantasized about her daughter's future countless times after dinner, thinking about raising children for her in the future.
But she still heard something from the old lady's words. Just when she was about to ask, Zheng Lanshu suddenly stood up and said sternly: "Go ! Go now! Do you hear me? Bring our Xixi back immediately!"
I heard that the memory of Alzheimer's patients is always jumping. The memories they can recall today may disappear tomorrow as if they were erased by an eraser, and will suddenly appear in their minds on an unknown day.
Just as Zheng Lanshu finished saying that, she seemed to have suddenly lost all her strength and sat down listlessly again.
When Luo Xun and the others breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly burst into tears again, shouting loudly: "You must not die well, you must not die well! Rourou, Rourou, where are you? Mommy is here to save you. Xixi, my little girl, where ? Grandma is here to find you..."
The nurse was startled and quickly hugged the old lady. She said to Chi Xia, "The old lady is very emotionally unstable. She is having a nightmare again. Please press the bell at the bedside!"
Chi Xia heard her and pressed the button immediately.
During this process, Zheng Lanshu became more and more agitated, her crying became more and more mournful and painful, and her whole body was struggling, as if she wanted to break free from the shackles and run away.
The nurse's strength was no longer enough to control her, so Luo Xun hurried over to control the old lady to prevent her from getting hurt.
Not long after Chi Xia rang the bell, a group of people rushed in, led by Dr. Xie, who had just brought Zheng Lanshu back.
