A Kind Riverside Bus Driver Helped Unite A Loved One With Dementia With His Family

If you are from a family who lives with a loved one with dementia, you would probably know how difficult it can turn out to be. You are always on your toes, hoping that your loved one with dementia does not just forget the route to the house or run away out of some whim. These patients should be taken extra care of and ideally, someone should always keep a watch on them. However, for any family member, it can be quite a difficult thing to keep a loved one with dementia in sight all the time. It is during these circumstances that a nurse is employed. But then, not everyone is wealthy enough to afford a nurse for the entire life of a person.

However, society can come to help in these cases. And such was the case when a considerate Riverside bus driver tried to extend her helping hand to the rescue of a dementia patient. The name of the hero is Camille Wilson. Like always, she was on her route in Perris, back in November. However, she got the alert of a man suffering from dementia is on the loose. It was clear that this person was someone who might have somehow escaped the house unnoticed. Or he might be someone who had lost his way and had now forgotten his own residence.

Well, when the description was given about the person, Camille immediately knew that the person being spoken about was on her bus. She makes it a point to greet everyone who boards the bus. She remembered the faces and the face of this old man stood out. He wanted to go to the casino in Perris, a weird choice.

There were no casinos in Perris.

For anyone else, it would have been difficult to figure out what they would do. After all, not everyone knows how to talk to a person suffering from dementia. While we can all be sympathetic about the condition, it is clear that we are not trained to deal with such things. After all, there are many stories about how dementia patients can turn violent if a wrong move is made. Also, it is possible that if someone does not say the right thing, the dementia patient can get out of the bus and walk away. No one could stop him then.

However, things were different for Camille. She says:

“They gave a description on our device and just me probing, asking questions…they train us on what to do…I was able to put two and two together. When he said he was on his way to the casino, being that there’s no casinos in Perris, that triggered it for me,”

Camille kept talking to the old man and tried to keep him engaged so that he did not think of leaving the bus. She continued doing so until the authorities showed up.

The Riverside Transit Agency gave Wilson an award because of her considerate act.

While she is grateful for the award, she is happier because she was able to make a difference.

Well, she did unite a loved one with dementia with his family. It’s one thing that she would probably always be proud of.

If you are from a family who lives with a loved one with dementia, you would probably know how difficult it can turn out to be. You are always on your toes, hoping that your loved one with dementia does not just forget the route to the house or run away out of some whim.…