Imagine a parent with dementia and their dog dies. They go through the initial pain of losing a loved one but then they forget so they ask the other parent what happened to Fido only to go through it again and again and again. Never being able to go through the 7 stages of grief ending in acceptance.
Imagine what it’s like for the parent without dementia as well. It brings the pain back fresh over and over again too.
How can such a cycle be broken? I never considered such a scenario until I saw it happen.
A Navy buddy developed dementia after we retired. He’d go back to the same hardware store and try to buy the same shovel over and over. He’s now in a “home.”