Books by Pat Grayson

It all started when my daughter Kimmy sent me a text message saying: “Grampa (my father) is back in hospital. I don’t know how bad it is, I’m trying to find out. It was Helen (Dads wife) who phoned me and of course she’s frantic. If I find out more I’ll let you know, love Kim”.‘Hell’, I know what this means. For now though I’m going to do my best to resist as I have been there before. But in my heart of hearts I know that I must go back to Australia and do what must be done. I arrived in South Africa only three weeks earlier on a two-month visit to my family and also to house-sit my son’s place whilst he and his family were on holiday in Europe. I SMSed Kim back and said that “I’ll phone Helen and see how she is.” I knew Kim was not going to be happy, as she would have liked me to have said, “OK, I’m on my way to take control”, but for now it will have to do. The minute Helen picked up the phone I knew that I could not unduly delay my return but I needed to until Lance and his family returned in another four days’ time. As I talk to her, I know of old, the quivering voice and could imagine her hands shaking, claw-like as she works through a panic attack. As a result of her illness she has virtually no body fat, I could see her face with the shrunken-skin stretched drum tight, accentuating the protruding, pointed cheekbones, with her hazel eyes – small coffee beans in their large sockets. I know the despairing stare and the pain that those eyes contain. I could hear the tears in her eyes and I shudder. Her words were incongruous with this memory as she says, “It’s okay, ...I can... cope”. We both know that she can’t. I promised to phone back the next day and monitor her.

Gruffian was soon to have a sister, and the mummy and the daddy want Gruff to give his beloved Teddy to the sister.Learn that even parents can make mistakes!Sales points (How this story can help Children)the importance of the relationship that young children have with their teddy bears and dollsTeaches children to express their will and individualityEntertaining for children, whilst imparting a valuable lesson that even parents can make mistakes, and that they can fix those mistakes with love

Dementia is a terrible disease that attacks people from all walks of life. Once afflicted, there is no cure, just ongoing deteriation. This book reflects the lives of my father and his wife.