It’s inevitable . Don’t count yourself out. No one wins in this battle.
She called me and voiced her concern. I said, “what’s the matter?”
“He asked me again how old I am.” Repeat. Rewind. Move forward. It was the advice I gave.
“Keep drinking your nightly glass of wine too!” That advice she liked. A lot .
Memory issues are ever present in my own devised, messy life. As a brain tumor survivor, I decided to do life as my will determines it to be. That can be complicated as well as simple. Never boring.
Then there is my autistic son . He has real issues remembering everyday life sequences. I try to make life fun for him. It really helps.
The problem I see with care takers is the isolation brought on by the inability to be out in society as much. My idea is we all need to help each other. Forgiving those that are losing their memory also is probably not what a care provider or family member wants to hear, but it’s the only way one can be.
For example, Caring for my son was days without sleep turning into countless years with sleep deprivation. My son turns 24 next week, 22 years I was the main provider. I had several helpers throughout the years and his dad was awesome, but most weighed heavy on my shoulders.
Routine also needs to be kept constant. I did not realize it until my son was born. I am mostly a spontaneous person and do not care for everything being the same day in and day out. Spontaneity was needed because my RN job caused me to have to document everything very closely by the clock. I sure did not want to do that with my personal life!
Written in memory of those who lost their battle with dementia.
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