Thank you. Even knowing that others have been in my shoes before me helps. Right now, it is my burden to bear. There are times she realizes that something is wrong with her brain, but she can’t sort it out. It does make her sad and somewhat depressed, other times she’s agitated. I am trying to take it day by day.
You have to take it minute by minute.
Wee noticed the mood swings within minutes.
One day she was all depressed because we weren’t including her in things and 15 minutes later she had forgotten it.
Not to mention that when we did invite her, she always turned us down.
It was a Catch 22. There was no way to win.
One thing that helped was getting her to talk about her past. She still had great long term memories and if you showed her old pictures, the things she could tell us about who the people were and what they did were amazing.
It helps to have that to connect with and if you’re into family history, write some of it down as she tells you.
Also there are support groups for people in your shoes.
They have a lot of good information about what they are going through and what to expect and what you can do to deal with it on all levels.
We learned a lot through them.
You should consider connecting with one. Yes, I know that time is at a premium when caring for someone, but it is well worth it for what you can glean from it to make it easier on everyone.