My mother suffers from dementia. It's not Alzheimer's, and she's not incapacitated, but she struggles with what was once instinctive. The cause is mostly attributed to age and her neurologist stated that most everyone will eventually suffer with dementia is some form or another.
What does this mean? Gentle love and patience that you didn't know you had. That, and the acceptance you'll have your heart broken now and then when you watch how hard the sufferer struggles and the fear they can never completely hide.
It sucks, in my opinion. I miss the long involved conversations about politics and life in general. Since there's nothing I can do to change this, I can only watch and hope it never progresses to the point she's completely unaware of her condition.
So, go give your parents a hug. If they're far away, give them a call and spend some time visiting. You may never get this chance again.
Sorry to hear but I hope she can become happy in her little world.
ReplyDeleteHer doctor described her dementia as "forgetfulness". Her short term memory suffers, but it's not completely gone. Her long term memory, especially names, takes efforts to use. Eventually, she remembers many things, but I can tell how much it bothers her to not have the razor sharp memory she once had.
ReplyDeleteEven harder for her when she has to try so hard to remember but the memories are still there somewhere, aww.
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