Story shared by: Pastor Jeanette Jordan and family
On Father’s Day, Bryan, Allison, Christa, Drew, and Edilah always celebrated the day by taking their dad, Dr. Robert “Bob” Jordan, to his favorite Soul Food restaurant. Sadly, Bob is living with Alzheimer’s disease and was recently moved into a memory care facility.
The children who live nearby, Allison, Christa, and Edilah continue this tradition by picking up his favorite foods and bringing the restaurant to him. This Father’s Day he can expect to dine on fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, collard greens, succotash, potato salad, cornbread and of course his favorite, a slice of German Chocolate Cake!
On July 29, 1962, 20-year-old Robert Andrew Jorden married the love of his life, Pastor Jeanette Jordan. Fifty-five years later the story of love and happiness, good times and bad, ups and downs, twists and turns, from poverty to prosperity had enough guiding light that it was turned into a published book “From Suspenders to Stethoscope…The Dr. Jordan Story.”
This story was released on June 30, 2017, the day which was the last day of work for Robert A. Jordan, M.D., Pediatrician, a graduate of Rush Medical College, the first African American Chief Resident at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital, a well-known and respected physician who was known for the quality of patient care he gave to thousands of children during his time in practice. He believed that no matter what one’s socioeconomic orientation may be, ethnicity or gender, or religious affiliation – everyone deserved the best of healthcare. Yet this dedicated clinician had been diagnosed with dementia. It was in January 2014 that the family finally came out of denial and came to terms with what was going on with their dad and husband. The news was shared with his five children as well as his mother and sisters fear of what was later confirmed – he had dementia. The family became more observant of the changes in his behavior. “He would call me from his office two or three times a day to ask how my day was going and I would share with him what I was doing or had done but a few minutes later he would call again, and ask the exact same question. When I would say you just called me and asked me that, he would laugh and say, “Oh I was just kidding,” said Jeanette Jordan.
Dr. Jordan was an avid golfer and would golf at least two to three times per week with his buddies or on his off days and special occasions. However, we began to notice his buddies stopped calling to include him in their golf outings. I eventually realized it was probably because he would interrupt the game when he couldn’t find his phone or misplaced his keys, everyone would have to go on the hunt only to find that his keys were in his pocket and/or his phone in the compartment of the golf cart. He stopped being excited about golfing together. His interest in reading the bible, which he loved to do, diminished.
We were a physician-pastor team and our dialogue with one another about our passions was slowly coming to a halt. I would ask him to stop by the store on his way home from the office to get a loaf of bread, or pick salad fixings and would come with everything but. Around late 2015 his staff started calling me to ask if Dr. Jordan had come home for lunch because it was way past his lunch hour and he had not returned. He once called me to say he had gone to pick up lunch for the staff but he was confused and couldn’t find his way back to the office. He seemed scared and panicky, but I was able to direct him home using landmarks and street signs after about 30 minutes. I was taking care of my 86-year-old sister who was a double amputee, and he would ask the same questions about her condition over and over. In early 2016 I finally convinced him to let me make him an appointment to see our Primary Care Physician be evaluated for possible memory loss- he wasn’t happy with the suggestion and went hesitantly. My husband was so crafty that he convinced our doctor that nothing was wrong with him, but rather he was preoccupied. When the doctor suggested that he could do a memory loss assessment just to rule out what we suspected, Bob refused. I can remember leaving the office in dismay, frustrated not knowing what to do.
The family began to watch his behavior even more closely. His routine of getting up at 7 a.m., showering, getting dressed, making and drinking a cup of coffee, and stopping by McDonald’s to get some oatmeal before going to the office began to change. He started sleeping later and later. His impeccable dress was a little off and it would take him forever to complete the dressing task; he was constantly misplacing his wallet or his phone or his keys. Every morning was a search for something that he had misplaced. When I located the item, he would fuss and say “who put it there?”. I notice that his demeanor was changing and he would get irritated often. He started to get up earlier to get ready for work, sometimes as early as 6 a.m. when office hours weren’t until 9 a.m., leaving him to pace back and forth until it was time to leave. He stopped calling his mother, I would have to remind him. He forgot that our daughter’s fiancé had flown in from California to ask him for our daughter’s hand in marriage. They had a long wonderful conversation and he gave his blessing. When the day came that she called to say they were on their way to get married, he became angry and claimed he’d never met the man. He began to take longer and longer to come home. As things got progressively worse, my children and I started preparing for Dr. Jordan’s retirement.
We found a psychiatrist who convinced him to do a memory loss test and diagnosed him with Alzheimer’s. A second opinion confirmed this diagnosis. He was placed on medication, which he initially refused to take. We reduced his hours at his office, and my oldest daughter immediately pitched in by becoming the office administrator to help prepare for his retirement. He was resistant to retiring but we finally convinced him it was time to enjoy life outside of medicine, he was now 75 years old and God had given him the ability to practice 10 years beyond retirement age.
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