Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
L
lakelapOtter Asked May 2013

Dad?! Dad? Daaaad?!

It's a single word my dear Mom often screams continuously (I think it's a childhood haunting when her very old father sent all his 4 children far (to Ontario from Nova Scotia; tended by unknown relatives) once their beloved Mother contracted dementia (I can only assume she was hospitalized; and he married again (more children followed). Does anyone have a similar story of a dementia parent recalling a possible haunt?

lakelapOtter May 2013
Thanks MishkaM, bookluvr, and virtual horizon. Your helpful comments are mighty appreciated. But to further explain, my Mom divorced our father 20+ years ago (and it didn't seem traumatizing; not the best fella), so I can only assume both speaking and yelling Dad refers to a very troubling childhood.

And, to hopefully lessen repeating a yelling Dad, I usually say "Your Dad's Happy in Hawaii" (my brother says Japan, enjoying tofu or such). Often times I just have to lock the bedroom door and turn up the radio (headaches too often).

I like spooky hauntings, but this is downright sad (and ear numbing). Much love!:)

virtualhorizon May 2013
My Dad, especially in the evenings and sometimes during the night, continuously calls out for my Mom. He'll call her while he's lying in bed, or he'll wander through the house calling her name. I think he just gets anxious and wants to know that she's nearby, though it just about drives her crazy!

ADVERTISEMENT


bookluvr May 2013
My mom would always call "Dad." But we just assumed she meant our father. Because, she always addressed him as Dad when she talked to him in front of us. She didn't call him by his personal name. In her dementia, she would keep calling "Dad" and when he answered, she calmed down. Only his voice was able to calm her. Of course, her siblings all thought she was calling their father (grandpa to me). I don't know now if she was calling my father or her father.

MishkaM May 2013
Hi miJmitoo,
Not from my kin but when I worked as a NH aide. There was a lady with dementia who had this memory stuck on her head. She would repeat it continuously. She was walking somewhere and she fell and skinned her knee and the other kids made fun of ether and called her names. Or something very close to that -this was over 20 years ago that I was an aide. She spoke of this incident to no one and everyone and she was so mad that they laughed at her. It was hard to listen to, she could not be deterred from it. I think she was reliving it. I had hoped it was her own purgatory and that once she passed she was a straight shot to Heaven. :^/

Does your Mom say anything eles? Could it be as simple as the regression of elders? The first word being Dad usually -an easier word to say than Mom , I believe is the theory.
How do you handle the yelling out? Just wondering. It sounds hard. Peace to you and your Mom.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter