Commented on a discussion 12/5/2008 at 1:12 am
Ratofe77 My mother has dementia also and experienced exactly what you are describing two and a half yrs ago. Both my parents were living in FL at the time and I am in Chgo. Mom would call me and
...Read MoreRatofe77 My mother has dementia also and experienced exactly what you are describing two and a half yrs ago. Both my parents were living in FL at the time and I am in Chgo. Mom would call me and cry on the phone about how my Dad (actually stepdad) was abandoning her every night after she went to bed and he would go out with all the women in town. These calls would just break my heart. After about 6 mths of this, my dad fell and was taken to the hospital. I caught the next flight and intended on taking care of Mom till Dad got out of the hospital in a few days. To make a long story short, I was off work 6 weeks as I moved my parents back to Chgo. That was 2 yrs ago and my mom has gotten progressively worse, currently she is in a nursing home cuz Dad cannot take care of her anymore. Per info I have read, Mom is in the final stages of Dementia/Alzheimers. Dad lives in Independent living 2 miles west of me and Mom is now 1 mile east of me. I pick up Dad 2 to 3 times a week and take him to dinner and over to visit Mom. Dad has also turned over Mom's total care to me as he is getting very forgetful himself, he is 87 and entitled to.
Now if that is not enough to take care of with a full time job, my husband has either lower spinal disease or ALS and we cannot get an exact diagnosis as there is no test that confirms ALS. In the mean time, his muscles are deteriorating to the point that his left hand and arm are dead weight and totally useless.
I maintain my sanity by babysitting for my grandson every Saturday and everyone around me knows Saturday is OFF LIMITS for everyone.
Sorry I didn't mean to vent this much, but darm if it doesn't FEEL GOOD.