My patient took obvious pride in her appearance, displaying on her right hand a beautiful diamond ring. She wore hosiery and her hair was carefully curled, her blue suit pressed.
Her daughter sat next to her, exhausted from the preparation for the doctor's appointment. "She wouldn't leave the house until we found her brown and white purse." They searched high and low, eventually finding it in the kitchen cupboard.
Tears brimmed in the patient's eyes as she struggled to answer the date, the season. She did not recall the apple, table, or penny. She raised four children while working as a registered nurse, delegating responsibilities in a busy surgical unit. Her daughter had taken her on tours of assisted living facilities. She had also taken her mother's car keys. As the appointment was ending, we discussed the most likely diagnosis and agreed on a trial of medication.
The patient resolutely completed her sentence, long after the test was over, and handed it to me.
It read "I have faith."
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