A Hard Day for the Caregiver

It’s bad enough that your parent with dementia doesn’t recognize you, but you can tell yourself its not just you. He doesn’t know anyone else, either.
Then, someone walks in the door your parent has only known a few months and he greets this friend by name. Even worse, he is polite and sociable, when fifteen minutes ago, he flew into a rage because he was sure you’d stolen something he misplaced.

Take a deep breath. Ok, it doesn’t really help…How can dementia make your mind forget your child and allow you to remember a virtual stranger’s name?

Posted by on 09.29.2006 • Uncategorized - Comments (0)

Mom Doesn’t Love Me Any More - Dealing with Emotional Stress

I think one of the hardest things for children of people with Alzheimer’s or dementia face is the way Mom or Dad suddenly is so nasty and mean. One Mom who knew she was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s sat her daughter down and did something I thought was wonderful. She told her that when she acted nasty or said horrible things, she wanted her daughter to say, “That’s the disease talking. Mom loves me.”

Posted by on 09.29.2006 • Uncategorized - Comments (0)