SilentChatter said:

So are you, thank you Keren.

Gee Lav, how terrible for you, and how hard it must be on your mother..

And something good though, you just contributed to my thankfulness for my mom's good health, she is 79.. Thank you..

Stay strong my dear!

sag10 said:

You always bring out the best in everything, sag10

Yes, count the blessings. You are very welcome.

I'm so sorry to hear that LaV...it must be like death being dragged out very slowly, I cannot imagine.

teller said:

Thank you, teller...yes it does, yet I feel selfish enough to not want her to die...although sometimes I think she already is.

I'm sorry to hear that Lavish. It is a terrible disease and very confusing for those effected.

My Grandpa died last year but in the 10 years or so before he died (at age 88 ) he had Alzheimers that got worse and worse until he died. It started off with him just confusing things, like your name etc, but got worse til the point where he didn't recognise you at all. It is very hard to deal with.



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[This message was edited Thu Dec 19 14:27:23 PST 2002 by bkw]

to you. I've worked with people who have alzheimer's disease and it's no walk in the park. One woman used to roam around all day eating bars of soap, wetting herself and having occasional outbursts of anger followed by lapses into an almost comatose state. She was the most ill out of all the residents, the majority suffered mostly with poor memory. I hope you find the strength and courage to be as supportive to your mum as possible.

My grandmother had alzheimers and lived with us til her dying day. Her and eye were very close and it hurt alot watching her forget things and adventually forgetting who eye was.

bkw said:

Indeed, but see...when we reach out to people, and they show support, it brightens the spirit. Thank you, bkw

Cloudbuster said:

back

You know. The nurse that spoke to me said a few things like that...that my mom had been getting violent...biting and scratching them.

With people around who help me to understand the disease, and with having talked about it today, trust me, this is actually helping me feel better.

Thank you, Cloudbuster

Paisley said:

I commend you, Paisley and your family, for caring for her at home. That must have taken a LOT of patience, effort, and time.

It does hurt...I hope they find a cure very soon.

This is a very hard disease for families to deal with. I lost my grandmother the day before Thanksgiving. She was 89 years old. Over the last 15 years my grandmother would call me by a cousin's name when I would talk with her. It would really hurt my feelings at times. About a week before she passed I visited her in the hospital, she had fallen and bumped her head and had a concussion. The hospital staff told us there was nothing they could do and that it was only a matter of time before my grandmother would pass. They said she was in the latter stages of dementia. We talked for several hours and she called me by my name and told me she loved me. That meant more to me than anything.

My grandmother was very lucky, she had been able to live by herself until the last few weeks of her life. She has lived in a home behind my aunt's house for the last eighteen years. My aunt and mother would visit and call her many times a day. It was very stressful and tiring for the two of them. At times, she would act like a child and throw temper tantrums and other times she wouldn't know who they were. This is the saddest part of the disease, the emotional and physical strain it causes on the family. They are both having a real hard time emotionally now that she has gone. It's like losing a child to them and they don't know what to do with their time now. It's hard for them to break a routine that they have held for so many years.

There, sorry this was so long, but I feel better now.

Still in' you.
Get on Yahoo, we got a long talk to make.