I’ve often been asked how Mom is progressing, and mostly I reply that she is well and sometimes I even venture to say she seems to be improving.
She seems more alert and is able to follow what is going on around her. She looks forward to the weekly sessions at the dementia daycare centre and on those days she comes back physically tired out but mentally prepped up. I guess the activity and affirmation she gets at the centre stimulates her and gives her confidence.
On the other hand, I notice her memory of past events can be unreliable. She remembers only three brothers, and details of one of the brother’s daughters are mixed up with another of my uncle’s daughters. Talking to her I imagine in her mind one face melding into another, the history of one person meshing with the history of another. In this sense, Mom is not typical of those patients with Alzheimer’s who are described as remembering distant events with accuracy and clarity; Mom cannot remember distant events clearly.
Mom does not seem too bothered by this loss. She is completely focused on the present, concentrating on what happens today and maybe paying a little attention to tomorrow’s plans.
Mom can still read the clock. However, she cannot understand “in five minutes time”. She does understand “now”, “later” and “at 1pm”.
Dementia, Caregiving and Life in General 
Yes, I definitely understand.
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Thank you.
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She is very lucky to have you, a lot of children can’t deal with changes of this type on their parents and tend to shy away and just visit once in a while.
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I make the best out of the situation I can. Mom lives with me now.
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I saw some of this first hand at my Gramps 90th birthday party. He called my cousin my dad’s name, even though they don’t look anything alike, and he mixed up me and my sisters.
If I go alone with my Gram to visit though, he can usually figure out who I am. But too many faces, definitely confuse him.
I wish there was a way to “cure” them. Perhaps someday.
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I wish there wasn’t this confusion. Yet maybe we are too attached to our “names”. Perhaps they know who we are but cannot figure the name handle.
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you might be onto something there!
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Thank you for your blog entry! I love hearing from you. What you say in your article confirms the individual nature of each person’s disease. Even if someone is diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia as another person – the manifestation of each person’s disease is very unpredictable. Why? Because each person is unique – therefore the disease will be somewhat unique as well.
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Thanks. Although everyone is different, I can see what is happening to Mom has happened to someone who blogs too. It helps me deal with it, and so I hope my writing helps someone else in turn.
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Lovely blog post. Enjoying the good moments is so important. I thought you might like this blog today too – the ups and downs of this hideous disease. http://acircleinthepath.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/enjoying-the-good-days/#comment-270
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Thank you.
In my case, I find Mom is pretty consistent from day to day. At least, that’s how it is right now…. it might change in the future, though.
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Yes, so similar to my mom. Her memory of distant events seems nearly gone. She has “word salad” to the point she can’t carry on meaningful conversations. Yet people continue to ask how she’s doing as if dementia/Alzheimer’s patients get better. I know they ask to show their concern but there’s no happy answer I can give them. Thanks for continuing to write about your journey with your mom.
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I can see for myself that although words and meanings seem to be jumbled up, emotions can be very strong. I remind myself to take care of the emotions more than the other stuff. Have spoken some vague nonsense using a soothing tone once when Mom got upset, and it worked.
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I have many friends who had no idea what to expect. You, at least, appear to have a plan. Use your time well because once mom is gone, her world and your view or it, is gone. Thank you for sharing your mom with us.
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Thanks for the encouragement. I keep thinking lately that time is running out.
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I was just explaining this very thing to a friend today. At my Mom’s stage it’s two steps back and then only one step forward again, never quite catching back up. Poor stepdad wants to think he sees improvement but it always slides back, sometimes the next day.
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I think the men never give up hoping it will improve!
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That is probably very true.
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