When Dementia Took His Memory, Love Still Found a Way
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.3 • 737 Ratings
🗓️ 18 November 2025
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, when Gina Ramsey moved her father into a memory care home, she thought she was watching him lose everything that made him who he was. Then he met May, a woman who had just turned one hundred and still laughed like a girl. Their friendship grew into a kind of love that gave both of them something to hold on to inside the fog of dementia.
Gina Ramsey joins us to tell the story of the highs—and lows—of managing her father's dementia.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed human. |
| 0:13.8 | And we return to our American stories. |
| 0:17.5 | Up next, a story, a love story courtesy of Gina Ramsey, entitled The Forgotten Bond. |
| 0:25.0 | Take it away, Gina. |
| 0:29.5 | As our car rolled up, the long driveway, my heart ached. |
| 0:35.2 | He needed 24-7 supervision and care. Our only option was to admit him to Happy Hearts |
| 0:42.2 | assisted living. My husband Paul and I sat with the facility director in a private room to complete |
| 0:49.6 | the admission. Clyde looked directly at me, sculling, His eyes pierced into me, as he said, |
| 0:57.3 | Why can't I keep living with you? |
| 1:00.7 | My heart sank. |
| 1:03.0 | Dad, I have to work in the office again. I can't be home with you anymore. |
| 1:08.8 | We had already given him this explanation several times, |
| 1:12.4 | but he had no recollection due to his advancing dementia. |
| 1:16.4 | The silent treatment began. |
| 1:18.9 | He stared away, ignoring us for the remainder of the admission. |
| 1:23.4 | We caused him pain at the deepest level. |
| 1:26.9 | Though at times challenging, caring for someone with dementia does have some perks. |
| 1:32.1 | We visited Clyde the next day. |
| 1:34.4 | Surprisingly, we found he had quickly acclimated to his new surroundings. |
| 1:40.1 | He was perky, smiling, and engaged with the other residents, particularly the women. |
| 1:46.4 | Two ladies became especially fond of Clyde, stopping at nothing to snag a seat next to this kind, funny, and gentle man. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 12 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.