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Here I go talking about my neighbor again. I think that they call it Sundowners because if it is a Sunday and she lays down to take a nap, she wakes back up and swears that it is Monday and she has missed her doctors appointment which is Monday but 2:30 in the afternoon, not 2:30 am. She calls and wakes me up saying that she has missed her appointment because of me. And after I have her settled down ( so I thought ) I find out that she is wandering the streets not knowing where she is going. Today is trash day and I put her trash can out to the curb to be picked up and when I went to bring it back to the house, it was gone only to find it in her garage and stinking to the high heavens but she doesn't remember doing it. I wonder if she is getting worse or is it now Alzheimer's?

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Sundowners is a an increased agitation and other symptoms that occur in dementia at fairly regular times (often, but not always, late afternoons).

After a person with dementia starts wandering it is no longer safe for them to live alone. I guess the reason for that is self-explanatory.

Dementia progresses. That means it gets worse. There are many kinds of dementia and they don't switch from one to another. If she now has ALZ, for example, that is what her mild phase was, too. Or if it is Vascular Dementia or any other kind, it has been that all along, only in more mild and manageable form. It is also possible to have more than one kind of dementia at the same time. But regardless of the kind, persons with dementia cannot live alone after the mildest phases pass.

I can't remember ... does this dear lady have close relatives (sons, daughters, sister, etc.)? Someone needs to take matters in hand and see that she has a safe environment.
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I see your neighbor lives at independent living. Is there an office where you can report your neighbors activities? Perhaps they can call her family if you don't have the information. Or perhaps your local area on aging can come visit her to determine if they have resources to help. She is lucky to have you for a neighbor.
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She has one sibling left and no nieces or nephews and her one sibling is 82 years young and does not want anything to do with her and she does live by herself. She has wandered off once but says that she has the right to go walking if she wants too but she was in her thin robe and it was around nine pm.
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