“Hey Siri, water bottle,” my sister said into her phone.
Instead of the cheerful ding of her AirTag, her phone blasted music so loud it made her jump. Living with dementia, she shouted, “I have a problem! I have a problem!”
Guest contributor, Carol Lindsay, MSN, RN
I ran into the living room, thinking something had gone terribly wrong. I found her frantically pushing buttons on her phone while a rap song blared. I turned off the music and asked what she’d asked her phone to do.
“Find my water bottle,” she answered.
“Try again,” I said.
Siri Has Her Own Idea
She repeated, “Hey Siri, water bottle.” The same song started again. She said it a third time, and the music played again. This time, I saw the words “Water Bottle by DJ Consequence” scrolling across her phone screen and realized the song playing was called “Water Bottle.” Siri is not very forgiving: the command “Hey Siri, water bottle” gets the Nigerian DJ rapper, DJ Consequence, while “Hey Siri, find my water bottle” gets her a Stanley cup.
Every time she forgot to add “find my” and said “water bottle,” her phone thought she wanted to hear the song, at full volume. Once I figured it out and explained what was happening, we both laughed until we cried. It was one of those absurd moments Alzheimer’s sometimes gifts you in the middle of frustration.
Air Tags to the Rescue
If any of her essential items go missing, she grows anxious. To help, her husband attached AirTags to many of her belongings. They have a HomePod Mini linked to her phone and all her Apple devices. From the living room or hallway, she can call out, “Hey Siri, find my sweater,” “Hey Siri, find my purse,” or “Hey Siri, find my dog,” and the missing item will chirp.
“Find my water bottle” was her favorite command until DJ Consequence joined the caregiving team. Now, about half the time, instead of a reassuring ding, we get a concert. But rather than frustration, it now ends in laughter.
Laughter
Growing up, my sister and I laughed a lot, sometimes until our stomachs hurt. I never imagined that decades later we’d be doubled over again, this time in her living room, with a Nigerian rap song blaring as our soundtrack. Alzheimer’s takes a lot, but for now, it hasn’t taken her laughter. And as long as she can laugh, I’ll be laughing with her, even if it starts with, “Hey Siri, water bottle.”
Carol Lindsay, MSN, RN, has taught Nurse Aides for 30 years and serves as a Long-Term Care Ombudsman. After caring for her father through Alzheimer’s, she now has three siblings living with dementia. She does what she can to help from across the country—an experience that’s reshaped how she sees caregiving, family, and endurance.
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