My mother is in late stage Alzheimer’s. She is in a nursing home. We celebrated her 85th birthday with friends and family. She was laughing but still suffered from all the usual symptoms of sadness and agitation. Now two months later all she does is sleep they have reduced her anti-psychotic meds. She’s on a fluid diet only as she has begun to aspirate a bit and she still knows who I am. When I visit, I play music and hold her hand. She has limited speech as she seems to want to say something, but doesn’t make any sense. The words come out very slowly, and then suddenly one day she spoke to one of the nurses and said that I am her daughter, later she said she has a sore throat and then later the same day she said she was sorry for everything that she was putting me through. kind of spooky I thought because she could’ve never said those things two months prior
Plus I’ve had my own experience with family members suddenly chiming in with relevant comments.
One aunt started speaking after being nonverbal for months. PD with DLBD. Seversl months later she stopped again. The questions she asked/comments she made while she was speaking indicated she knew what had been going on.
Just unable to speak. In this aunts case, after being incontinent for a while, she jumped up off the sofa and said I have to get to the bathroom. She had no trouble finding it even though she was at her daughter’s home where she hadn’t been for months, maybe years?? My cousin called me asking did I want to speak to her mom. I was amazed.
There is much unknown about these diseases. I’m glad you were there when your mom spoke.
It IS very disconcerting when this happens. Disturbing. Makes you feel that your loved one is somehow "locked in" to a nightmare from which they briefly escape to communicate with you. It adds to your general helplessness.
Two caregivers were speaking at shift change about how they were concerned Mom might not survive Covid. Mom spoke up loudly and clearly, "I'm not going anywhere."