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🎉 Dear Papa by Colby McCaskill, a senior at Fordham University, takes the form of a letter from grandson to grandfather, the Papa, Dick McCaskill.
In it, Colby grapples with his grandparents’ aging and how his Grammy Kathy McCaskill’s health conditions — including her dementia — are changing their relationship. Colby, who recently turned 21, used the podcast to initiate a difficult conversation, one he’d been avoiding, with his grandparents and his family.
✉️ “Dear Papa,” he begins, "It's hard to admit because it feels like there's no solution, but I really wish you and Grammy weren't growing so old.”
In the podcast, Colby weaves scenes from a past visit with his grandparents with interviews and personal reflections. He doesn't skirt the reality of what's happening to his grandmother: that like millions of Americans with dementia, she's losing her memory.
"I'm sure you know out of everyone how her dementia has been progressing. How she can't remember my name or her age," Colby says in the podcast. "I am, let's see," Kathy responds. "I think right now, I am like … I'm like … 47 years old, that's how old."
At another point, Colby asks his Grammy to describe what's happening. "Now, I started to say something, and then I can't remember," Kathy tells Colby. "But it is a little scary, honey, that when I walk in, and I'm going to do something, and then I can't remember what I was supposed to start talking about."
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Colby, Kathy and Dick McCaskill look out over the water at their rental condo in Pensacola, Fla.
Matthew Coughlin for NPR |
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NPR Ed correspondent Elissa Nadworny and I got to visit Colby and his grandparents last month at their vacation rental in Pensacola, Fla., where we listened together to talk about the podcast.
Papa Dick said he’s lived this reality with his wife’s dementia for the past several years, but seeing it through the lens of his grandson felt different. "I've listened to [the podcast] four or five times, and it brings tears every time I hear it," he said, while wiping tears from his cheeks.
It’s been almost a year since Colby sent the audio letter to his Papa. The McCaskills have since used it as a jumping off point to talk about dying and how things are changing and what they need to do as a family to stay connected.
"The ideal outcome was that I get to tell my grandparents how I feel," Colby said. "And they listen and they get to tell me how they feel, and I listen. And I think that happened." |
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Congratulations again, Colby! And thanks to all the students and educators who took part in this year’s College Podcast Challenge. The next college contest launches in September. 😉
Until then,
Janet Woojeong Lee |
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