The worst part is that it never ends.

Don't worry, Jeanne, I hear that all the time. Then one day, an important client said it to me across my desk, and I straight out told him - NOT SO! Then I compared the 2 and he sheepishly acknowledged that I was right. I'm very shy but this time I spoke up. He had real admiration (and sympathy) in his eyes after that. Sigh...Definitely NOT the same (raising children and caring for elderly)...

Or a week, Jeanne.

I'm sorry, and I'm usually a pretty compassionate person, but people who compare taking care of someone with dementia to taking care of a child should be whomped upside the head. Or better yet, take on the 24/7/365 care of such a person for a month.

Boy oh boy! Do I ever agree after 5 years of this with Mom and she is still in excellent health considering PD and late stage dementia! I got the "Now it's your turn to take care of her like she did you when you were a child" from an acquaintance, while shopping in Walmart one day. I wanted to scream at her that it's not the same at all, but made some inane remark and moved on before I exploded! I had a nurse say that to me in the ER just before X-mas when Mom had a raging UTI and was a complete mess! I did give her a what for, because she should have known better! That was after she left me to undress Mom and get her onto the gurney by myself. It was not a very pleasant 5 hours in the ER that day!
You are so right Leanne and Dunwoody, reset is a good description. Same routine over and over every day for who knows how long! I'll be 62 in August and am definitely going to start collecting Social Security! Mom is 85 and both her parents lived to 92! So I could be in it for another 6-7 years! Yikes!!!!

If Satan were to create the perfect disease to torture mankind, it would be Alzheimer's, or any form of dementia, for that matter. This stuff doesn't just kill, it first tortures, and not just the victim, but the victim's family, It's the Saddam Hussein of pathology. Terrific, through advances in medicine, smarter lifestyle choices and better nutrition, folks are living longer than ever. Well, actually, their bodies are. Unfortunately, the minds are not. So what's the point of a long life if your mind is gone and the only purpose it serves is to torture your family? God, I need a drink!

I compare it to be what it might be like to be stuck in quicksand. The more you struggle, the more you sink. Friends can not pull you out. You have to work at it slowly and progressively and figure a solution or you might drown when the tide comes in.

And this is how it is so very, very different from raising a child. Children progress. They get more mature. More capable. Yes, there may be some rough spots ahead, but we can look forward to a rewarding adult relationship with them.

With a chronic condition that is only going to get worse until death, the rewards are very different, and harder to come by.

This whole thing just sucks.

Each day is a reset and I really would like to know how this story ends. Today was not a good day...I am tired, cranky and worried. My mom's breathing was horrible today Congestive Heart Failure/COPD just sucks !! This whole thing just sucks ;-( I am 57 my kids are grown and you think life would slow down but it doesn't and I am a fixer and I can't fix any of this. It is like watching a bad movie that you can't leave.