Reality Check

Mom is back from hospital, and physically she is much improved. No more fever and no more falls. But that’s about it. She isn’t physically up to where she was a few months ago, and mentally, her dementia seems to be progressing.

We could almost see the Words fade and disappear. We sense the Meanings of words shape-shifting.

She has forgotten her birth date. She can no longer sign her name because she cannot grasp the order of her first, middle and last name. She has definitely forgotten her age – she used to be able to name the decade, but now she is completely off. Or maybe she no longer has any sense of numbers.

She is poetic, though. “The Rain falls like a Lump from the Sky”.

She gets up in the morning, and goes to bed at night. I remind myself to be grateful for that! Enjoy this while it lasts.

She can still make her breakfast, but she often has no appetite, and throws it away. She eats very little now, but because she is so sedentary, she is not losing weight.

And we? We are mostly in denial. Surely these changes are reversible? If not completely, then somewhat. We will step up the exercises, and stimulate the neurons. Grow, grow! Make new connections! Then maybe the Words will be back.

Mom is still Mom. She knows who she is, and she knows who we are.