Hers is the classic immigrant story. Born in 1928 in the storied town of Agropoli in the province of Salerno in Campania, Adalgisa Di Scola (née Di Marco) found herself at the age of 27, with two small children, aboard the ocean liner M.S. Vulcania, ready to join her husband of six years in Canada; Giuseppe had emigrated a year earlier, in 1955.
This young mother would eventually land at Pier 21 in Halifax and travel by train to Toronto, as thousands had done before her.
“This lady with little education found work soon after her arrival as a seamstress at a lingerie factory, eventually becoming a respected floor supervisor to more than 200 sewing machine operators at a major T-shirt manufacturer. She worked hard, and people just couldn’t keep up with her,” explains daughter Francesca.
But subtle changes were starting to happen. Francesca clearly remembers how concerned her father was about her mother’s forgetfulness. “Before he died three and a half years ago, my dad had begun to notice how forgetful she was becoming. He used to watch my mom in the kitchen and saw that she would leave the burner on, or the fridge door open, or the lights on when all was done.”
After her father died, Francesca and her two brothers began to see other troubling changes in their mother’s personality. “When my dad was alive, she would force him to go for walks around the block with her. After he died, she abandoned the treadmill and no longer did her morning stretches and tummy tucks. Now, she doesn’t go for walks at all.” Adalgisa, they saw, was losing her motivation and beginning to sleep more.
A story about the CBAO Seniors Day Program earlier this year on the weekly CHIN TV broadcast, Festival Italiano di Johnny Lombardi, brought some hope. After some research, Francesca and her brothers registered their mother in this unique program for a couple of days a week.
These days the morning routine typically begins with a wake-up call at 7:30 am. While her mother remembers to make her bed and wash up, Francesca will help her get dressed, make her breakfast and ensure that she takes her meds before they set off for the centre just after 8:00 am. Adalgisa now attends the program five full days a week.
“She really looks forward to going there every day. With her new friends, they talk about their families, their grandkids,” says Francesca. “I hear from program staff that she is the life of the party and is so enthusiastic about participating in the program. She can sing a song to whatever it is they are talking about.”
Although this disease is slowly robbing Francesca of her mother, she remains thankful. “I love my mother and would do anything for her, and it’s important that everyone understands that the program isn’t clinical. My mom and others like her aren’t hospitalized; with this program they do activities to stimulate the mind and muscles. She feels really comfortable there, and everything they do is linked to their Italian heritage. Whether it’s the songs they sing or the conversations they have as a group about travel, it all links back.” And she adds with a hearty laugh, “They also eat very well!”