Rebecca’s mom has dementia. She lives at home with her husband, her primary caregiver. When a family friend asked Rebecca* if her mom would like to go with her on an outing, perhaps for ice cream or a picnic, Rebecca wasn’t sure how her mom would respond. But when Rebecca suggested the idea, her mom’s face lit up. She said, “I would LOVE to do that!” When Rebecca told me the … [Read more...] about Friends for life – Dementia part 3
Dementia
How’s your mom doing?
When someone asks, “How’s your mom doing?” I usually stumble through a reply. Sometimes I shrug and say, “She’s about the same.” Yet that’s not exactly true. My mom is slowly, gradually declining. My mom has dementia. Yet even though the question is hard to answer, I’m grateful when people ask. I need to know that Mom still matters to my friends, as she matters to me, and as … [Read more...] about How’s your mom doing?
My mother has dementia
This is the first in a series of three articles about dementia. We had a guest, years ago, who told us that her mom was chiding her dad for visiting his friend who had dementia, because the friend didn’t remember him. Our friend apparently saw it as her mom did: that it seems like a waste of time to visit someone who doesn’t know who you are. The way our guest told it, … [Read more...] about My mother has dementia
Do you remember?
“Do you remember?” is one of questions that anyone living with dementia will struggle to answer. It just slips off the tongue and the next thing you know, you’ve put them in the very difficult place of trying to do something (remember) that is not possible. It took me a while to train myself not to ask this of the seniors whose memories had faded. I used to approach them and … [Read more...] about Do you remember?