Abuse/Paranoia


Some reports were murkier.  David occasionally told me that someone had assaulted him the night before: “This big man — he was huge — this man threw me on the bed.”  His perception of human size was unreliable because LBD had distorted his visuospatial perception, and that made it difficult to adjust to the view from his wheelchair.  He would sometimes point out a “huge” staff member who was no bigger than I am. (I’m an average-sized woman.) 

Which of us had a more accurate reading of gender I can’t be sure, but David’s was often different from mine.  So all I could glean from his reports was that someone had moved him to the bed in a way that made him feel like he was being thrown.  Having watched two CNAs move him deftly and quickly from the wheelchair to the bed, first positioning him on the bed and then rotating him into place, I wondered whether those maneuvers felt to him like being thrown.  Having been on video calls with him when other residents had come into the room, I also wondered whether it was possible that anyone actually had done something that felt like an assault.