My Mother is 84 and was diagnosed with Alzheimers and Dementia last year although I saw the signs a year before. She can still bathe by herself and dress, but that is all she can do. I am her Power of Attorney and I will never make her leave our home. But how will I cope?
Response 1:
As long as you are physcially, mentally, and socially ready to accept the changes that will happen to your family unit, care for your mother at home.
Everyone progresses at a different rate. Some have very sweet dispositions and stay within the home. Others cannot be trusted for a minute by either walking out the door or trying to cook food and starting a fire. Some can become very angry and irrational and combative and take it out on family members.
Life becomes a day to day decision as to whether or not you can care for someone at home. I had to make that difficult decision for mom to be in assisted living. At least I knew she was being watched 24/7 and I could sleep at night.
My kids did not have to see and be impacted by the behaviors that dementia can have. Hopefully you have some resources and maybe have a back up plan or respite care facility. Being her POA is a good choice. If there is no healthcare directive, you might want to explore that too.
Response 2:
My mom is 85 and was diagnosed almost 10 years ago. For her it’s going very slowly. Forgetting names of family now and where we are going and why.
Reading is impossible because she can’t keep track of a story line. She can (for the most part) take care of her bodily functions but can’t remember when she last showered. So I keep track of showering, meds, doctors, eating all that kind of stuff
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