Just so you know, there is no way Tee can read any of this blog as he is computer illiterate, thinks computers are 'communist' and is generally a Luddite when it comes to the world around us. Bee doesn't have time to read it but P-Lee understands.
First, I had to educate myself about brain changes and I mean a lot. Thank the powers that be for the world wide web. Search engines produce 11,600,000 sites for dementia alone. I haven't gone thru all of them....I have a life y'know; but if Google was a person, I would marry her.
Dementia and Alzheimer's are words used interchangeably...but they are two different brain changes. They are both progressive illnesses. The symptoms overlap but there are very big differences. Sometimes the progression is short and dramatic and sometimes it is slow and subtle with bursts of reality or confusion thrown in. This happens at exactly the same time as when you think you know what is going to happen.
The caregiver becomes the expert on the parent. Brothers do not like it when their little sister knows more about anything than they do, never mind about their mom. Some brothers think they know everything but they do not. And a part of me definitely likes being the boss (ah, sibling rivalry never really goes away. We just get better at camouflaging it.)
Since my mother's decline has been a long process, the educating of almost everyone who comes in contact with her is an ongoing process.
The last time Tee came over, he brought my mom a calendar and a black magic marker to mark off the days. He doesn't get that if she could remember to do that, she would not need a calendar to mark off the days.
I can never forget that, though.
1 comment:
He thinks (that's nuf said right there...), but he thinks she should be doing so many things, walking, going places with him.
I told him with the great care she receives, she could be with us 'til pat 100.
My mother-in-law is 90 this year, very lucky to also live with her daughter. gets to walk a small circle in front of house each day (they're way out in the country). It's important that precautions are taken to help avoid falls, etc, so if not doing all those things like going out and walking on streets maintains her current quality of life, how can they not be the RIGHT things? Tee doesn't comprende.
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