We can look up the medical explanation of dementia but no one knows exactly what it is truly like unless they have first hand experience of caring for a family member who has been diagnosed with dementia.
Sometimes, we don’t recognize the symptoms of dementia when they first occur. I missed the early signs and felt that my mother was confused, forgetful due to normal aging or that she was simply being contrary. I had so much to learn!
I think it would help others to hear what all of you who experienced caring for a person with dementia.
I think so many of us are afraid of dementia (fear of the unknown) that we steer away from the possibility of a parent having dementia. I was grateful when people on this forum suggested that my mom’s behavior could be stemming from dementia because it opened up the door for me to consider that she was having symptoms of dementia.
My mom did develop dementia along with her Parkinson’s disease. Knowing what I was dealing with helped me to understand her behavior. I also learned how to communicate with her doctor better in order for her to receive the best care.
Some of us may have seen dementia with a grandparent and had a head start on the situation with their parents. I didn’t have this frame of reference in my family. Neither of my grandparents had dementia.
Please share your thoughts.
Dont dwell on the past, just try to help them now that you know.
Living in the Labyrinth by Diana Friel McGowin.
Living In The Labyrinth is the story of how one woman found the strength and the courage to cope with a devastating disease that has afflicted five million Americans. Far from being an exercise in self-pity or a standard autobiography, this is an unflinching and ultimately uplifting look at a debilitating illness from the inside out.
“Somewhere there is that ever-present reminder list of what I am supposed to do today. But I cannot find it. I attempt to do the laundry and find myself outside, in my backyard, holding soiled clothes. How did I get here? How do I get back?”
Only forty-five when she first began to struggle with the memory lapses and disorientation that signal the onset of Alzheimer’s, Diana Friel McGowin has written a courageous, stirring insider’s story of the disease that is now the fourth leading killer of American adults.
Diana’s personal journey through days of darkness and light, fear and hope gives us new insight into a devastating illness and the plight of its victims, complete with a list of early warning signs, medical background, and resources for further information. But Diana’s story goes far beyond a recounting of a terrifying disease. It portrays a marriage struggling to survive, a family hurt beyond words, and a woman whose humor and intelligence triumph over setbacks and loss to show us the best of what being human is.
“A stunner of a book . . . it takes the reader on a terrifying but enlightening journey.”—San Antonio News Express
“Touching and sometimes angry . . . a poignant insider’s view.”—The Cincinnati Enquirer