Dementia is contagious

Not really but it sure seems like that sometimes. When you are living with someone whose reality is a little permeable, you surely start to question your own. I was giving my mom some of her meds and she asked, "what's this for?" I told her it was a memory pill. She looked at me funny (which she does when she doesn't believe me- all the time, it seems) and said that her memory is fine. And she could drive, too. And walk down to the 'avenue' and go shopping. The last time she walked down to the 'avenue' was in 1978. She has trouble walking across the living room.

In addition, my roommate kind of threatens me if I start getting demented.  When I told a friend about my concern of what would happen should I become demented. He said "have Dee take care of you". Well Dee is only a year younger than I am, so that's not going to work.
I also return the favor by threatening my roommate if she gets demented. When I tell her something four times and she still doesn't remember, she says, "I really don't pay any attention when you are speaking". Sometimes I can't stand her.

I don't have children; I don't have Long Term Care; you rarely know you have dementia until after the brain changes have begun. What will happen to me if dementia or Alzheimer's takes hold?
 Slightest memory lapses becomes glaring. I misplaced my wallet for days because I didn't use it. When I finally went looking for it, I could only remember the last place I had used it. I looked and looked. Dee looked. I looked again, in the same places I looked the first time. Finally I had another pair of eyes, Sue, and I found it at the bottom of a shopping bag.

My chihuahua is 16 years old and also has dementia. Fortunately, he is only nine pounds and can be carried outside to pee. He knows where the food is and where his bed is but he is very confused with everything else. He, like my mom, paces. Sometimes, they are like a very slow moving parade.

With my mom, we frequently ask her where she is going. She never really knows; but I don't know where I'm going either. One day at a time.