Recina, the attorney
Recina remembers the days grandma Edna used to tell stories of her ancestors who picked their few rags and tatters up and flee their land in search of work, shelter and bread. Long were those conversations over many cups of tea. And she used to love them, for they drew Recina closer to the family she never met. So close that she even made some drawing of their faces, as she had imagined them. It was joy. However, those stories became more and more erratic as well as sporadic, since Edna commenced to mix things up. Conversations became random and seldom she would gather the energy required to speak so vibrantly, as she used to. Periods of silence increasingly became the norm and Recina would sit next to grandma, stroking her hand. Nothing more, nothing less. A strong bond of trust and affection grew day by day and when the first signals of hazy memory appeared Edna did not hesitate to ask Recina to be her attorney should she ever need help with her affairs. Recina accepted, unequivocally.
Steps can be taken to prepare in the event of someone losing mental capacity. At the outset of her debilitating memory Edna made a Lasting Power of Attorney appointing Recina as her attorney for financial affairs. Edna could do this in her lucid spells, while she still had capacity to understand the act. She then registered the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian so it could be used straight away. Recina would make sure to ask Edna’s wishes during those bright spells and then act accordingly.
Nowadays, and in between her role as an attorney, Recina would repeat those stories to Edna who attentively listens to them as if to reconstruct her past and make sense of the present. And the bond between the two continues...