My mother was first diagnosed by her primary doctor and then again later at the Memory Loss Clinic at UCLA. The whole experience at UCLA was very disappointing because they first informed us that because of my mother's age, she was a perfect candidate for a case study. She was very pleased to hear this because she desperately wanted to be cured. The doctors over there sort of strung us along and then at the last minute after signing all of the paperwork and after giving us all the details and what to expect, they changed their minds. WHAT A BLOW! As if we hadn't had enough bad news already. I was furious and demanded an explanation but never received a real explanation, just that they felt that she did not have the capacity to understand what was going on. Which was a bunch of BS because she felt so let down and was very upset. After that and for the next 5 years my mother lived with my sister and stayed at my house on the weekends. At first it was an adjustment to my sister and I. My sister and I both had to learn all her medications and make sure she took them at the right time. Soon after her diagnosis of Alzheimers, she became diabetic. I'll never forget this day as well. We were all at my oldest son's baseball game when she told me that she was not feeling well and wanted to go and sit down in our car. I walked her over to the car and she became very disoriented and had trouble walking. I could barely get her in the car and right when I did, she lost conciousness and turned white and then her lips started turning purple. We immediately called 911. Right after that she opened her eyes but still looked terrible. By the time the paramedics came, she looked better and was talking but she was still dizzy. The drove transported her to the hospital and they checked her out really good. They checked her blood sugar level and it was alarmingly high. The doctor's in the ER said that she may have gone into a diabetic shock.
So, in addition to the medicine she took for Alzheimers and Diabetes, she also had to take medicine for hypertension, hyperthyroidism, cholesterol, depression, etc., etc. I felt so bad for my mother having to take all of this medicine and she was always so good about taking her medicine and trying to eat good. During the time that my mother lived at home, she was usually pretty good and not too hard to take care of. Other than a few months here and there of some episodes of very bizzare behavior, she wasn't too difficult to take care of. The difficult part was watching all of these things happen. Watching her deteriorate every day with each day bringing some new challenge. It's a lot like watching someone disappear little by little each time.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Frustration Of It All When Someone You Love Has Alzheimers
Finding out that someone you love has Alzheimers is a crushing blow to your heart....you never recover, at least I haven't. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers at the age of 61 and on the day of her diagnosis, my life was changed forever. A co-worker and friend described it best when she said that "Alzheimers breaks your heart and leaves you frustrated." The only people that can relate are the ones that have been through the heart wrenching agony. It eats away at you more and more every day. The further your loved one slips away, the more frustrated you become. Frustrated because there is no cure, no financial help, no hope.
My mother was once this happy woman who loved her life and loved her job. She worked at JC Penney's for 32 years and loved every minute of it. Her job was her life and she had many friends at work. I started noticing odd little things about her every now and then but nothing that ever really concerned me. The first thing that I noticed about my mother that was different was her behavior at times. She would say odd little things at times that sometimes didn't make any sense but then she would laugh at herself, so it didn't seem like any big deal. When my aunt (my mom's sister) passed away from pancreatic cancer, this affected my mother very deeply. She was very close to her sister and would visit her every year in Germany. My mother seemed very confused after my aunt's death and would cry often. The change in her behavior became noticeable where she worked. She could no longer count money or remember what she was doing. Some of the simplest things became difficult for her. Her comprehension level was not the same. This is when I decided that it was imperative that she see a doctor. She was reluctant to see a doctor because I feel she feared the worst. Now that I look back, I think she knew that something really bad was happening and tried very hard to hide it. She blew things off and always said that she was fine. She always had some sort of excuse for her odd behavior.
My mother was once this happy woman who loved her life and loved her job. She worked at JC Penney's for 32 years and loved every minute of it. Her job was her life and she had many friends at work. I started noticing odd little things about her every now and then but nothing that ever really concerned me. The first thing that I noticed about my mother that was different was her behavior at times. She would say odd little things at times that sometimes didn't make any sense but then she would laugh at herself, so it didn't seem like any big deal. When my aunt (my mom's sister) passed away from pancreatic cancer, this affected my mother very deeply. She was very close to her sister and would visit her every year in Germany. My mother seemed very confused after my aunt's death and would cry often. The change in her behavior became noticeable where she worked. She could no longer count money or remember what she was doing. Some of the simplest things became difficult for her. Her comprehension level was not the same. This is when I decided that it was imperative that she see a doctor. She was reluctant to see a doctor because I feel she feared the worst. Now that I look back, I think she knew that something really bad was happening and tried very hard to hide it. She blew things off and always said that she was fine. She always had some sort of excuse for her odd behavior.
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