Sometimes, the best side of humanity shows up
“My dad got lost on a walk today…has dementia.”
Recently, Lakewood Hills resident Laura Jekot posted these gut-wrenching words on neighborhood social media, along with her dad’s last-known location and her phone number.
Spoiler: very happy ending here. East Dallas, you came through for one of your own. Hours after the original, panicked post, Jekot sent this out: “Today I experienced the very best side of humanity and the goodness that can come from social media community.”
Note: To honor the family’s request for privacy, the names of Jekot’s parents are withheld and they are referred to here as Dad and Mom.
On that day, Jekot had just left a physical therapy appointment when her mom called to say Jekot’s dad had vanished during their daily walk in the neighborhood. They had a routine of walking down side streets for several blocks, turning up a block, then heading back home on the next side street. “My dad was behind her when they made the turn to return and since it was just a straight shot home, she didn’t check behind her.”
But when Mom realized he was gone, she decided to rush home for her car to speed up the search. After driving up and down a few streets with no luck, she called her daughter.
“When mom called, my first reaction was shock that this could even happen and it scared me, but I initially thought that he just wandered a block or two off course and between the two of us we would find him,” she remembers. “But after what seemed like hours (it was really less than an hour), the reality set in that he was very lost, and probably as frightened as we were. My dad starts to get anxious and worried when my mom is out of his sight even for short amounts of time, so he must have been terrified.”
Jekot called a friend and filled her in, who in turn called more friends, all of whom jumped in their cars to help search. Mom returned home in case Dad found his way back.
About an hour had passed when Jekot drove back to her parents’ house and told her mom to call the police. In the meantime, Jekot located a recent photo of Dad and posted her plea for help on neighborhood social media (specific site withheld at Jekot’s request.)
Jekot resumed her search by car, stopping periodically to check responses to her post. She remembers feeling “overwhelmed” by the support she received from the post, with dozens joining the search and offering kind words of hope.
“I was frantic and feeling at a loss for which direction to go and beginning to feel hopeless,” Jekot admits. “I tend to be weepy when I’m stressed or feel overwhelmed, but I remained focused on the task. So, it wasn’t the stress that finally made me break down, it was the outpouring of care and concern from friends, neighbors and complete strangers that brought on the tears!”
About two hours in, as Jekot was scanning Tietze Park for the third or fourth time, her mom called with the news that Dad had been found at Mattress Firm on Mockingbird, near Central Expressway.
“Because of my dad’s dementia, we’ll never know how he ended up in a store a mile and a half away from home in the complete opposite direction they had been walking, but apparently he walked into the store and seemed lost and confused,” she remembers. “He didn’t remember my mom’s cell phone number but remembered their phone number from the 50-year-old landline that had just been disconnected a few months before. The woman at the store realized that he probably had dementia and called 911.”
Jekot updated her social media post with the good news and was flooded with hundreds of reactions and comments expressing relief. One person suggested that she get an AirTag for her dad, a device to help track his whereabouts. That very evening, she attached a newly-purchased tag to his key chain. He never leaves home without his keys even though he no longer drives.
Jekot’s actions fall in line with advice from the Alzheimer’s Association when a dementia patient is missing: call the police; have a close-up, recent photo of the person handy; get the word out through phone calls and social media. And don’t forget an AirTag.
“It was a grueling experience but having so many people around us who truly care for one another left me feeling more hopeful and optimistic about the future. Often we focus on the division, injustice or cruelty in the world and can forget that we are all in this life together and we are all basically kind and caring people at heart.”
Well done, neighbors.
