Sunday, June 19, 2016
Greetings and Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads out there!
It has been an adventurous day to say the least with Mom today. But wait, maybe I should back up a bit and start at the beginning.
Approximately 6 years ago my Mom was diagnosed with Dementia (she was 68 years old). Needless to say my sister and I were a little surprised. At the time she was in the very early stages so things weren't too bad. Two years after she was diagnosed she had to give up driving. Mom was on her way home from quilting and got lost, so she parked at the local Wal-Mart, went into the store and walked around a little until she remembered how to get back home. Late that afternoon she called me and said "come get my car, I got lost." I must admit I was very thankful she gave it up on her own and we didn't have to take it from her.
Now fast forward several years later to two weeks ago, Mom started wandering (not at all in her nature as she is more like a hermit). She wandered outside of her apartment barefooted on a warm day and fell. Her neighbor called the paramedics and they came to get her. The only reason we found out is because my daughter was on her way over to Mom's place to make sure she had taken her medicine and the neighbor told her what happened. My daughter called me and I called our two local hospitals to see which one they took my mom too. Once at the hospital to say the least Mom was not the best patient, she was probably their worst one of the day. The nurses were great and after 9 hours we got all the tests run. No broken bones, which we were thankful for but the dementia was much worse and we were told she could no longer be alone.
Now to today my Mom has been in my home for 2 weeks now and we are actively looking for a care facility for her. Her mind is in so many different places that I think I am losing my mind some days. From the moment she wakes in the morning until the time she goes to bed in the evening she does not stop talking. Now mind you I am not complaining as this is part of the disease. Every day we are having to relive the death of my father, which was 9 years ago and that is just a pain that does not go away. Now we are at the loss of my Grandparents. My Grandfather died 47 years ago and my Grandmother 15 years ago. Most of the time Mom doesn't believe I am her daughter and she thinks her and my dad had sons when they had 2 daughters.
The days pass slow while we try to put this puzzle together for mom. My daughters made her a memory book that includes family sayings, family info and pictures to help. There are some funny moments which keep us going for example when mom thought she needed to keep a pair of underwear in her purse or walking around with a heating pad for no reason what so ever.
These are the days of our lives right now but the only way for me to keep my sanity through this journey is to write about it. Thanks for listening and have a great day!
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