Alzheimer's, A Disease, Not Normal Aging~My 87 Year Old Mother Showing Symptoms

 

by Jim Barton on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 1:21pm

July 6, 2011
     Admittedly, lapses in memory, even judgement can create some humorous exchanges and situations, especially if someone is there to monitor things and protect the aging one from harm.  That has been the case with my mother since my sister and her husband have been with her nearly 24/7.  So, we all had a bit of a nervous laugh last year when my mother announced that she would be receiving a gentleman caller and likely be moving out.  Moments later, a salesperson from Fruia Motors arrived with a car for a test drive our mother had requested.  It didn't seem too far fetched for the dealership since my late stepfather had bought several vehicles from them over the years.  My sister had to go out and disappoint the salesman with the information that our mother no longer drove and couldn't pay for the car.
     There were other moments.  Out of the blue one day mom asked me if I knew her son Jon.  Since we had been brothers for over half a century, I said that I did.  She smiled to think that two of her sons knew each other.  Alzheimer's creates such breakdowns with neurotransmitters in the brain not doing their job.   I've been reading over a printout I downloaded on the disease.  Several things stand out.  More women than men are affected.  It does run in families,  Thyroid disease and longstanding high blood pressure are factors.
  
Nena and mom last July
     On Tuesday Mom had an apparent heart attack and is currently at Valley Regional.  Nena and I visited the last two days.  She seemed in good spirits, but with accelerated dementia symptoms.  She kept insisting that her mother and father had visited her twice that day.  "You know they're still alive", she told Nena.  She asked me to open the curtain and see if the musical program had started.  "There's a big crowd out there.  I don't want to miss any of it."  I pulled back the curtain of her second floor room to see only the roof of the first floor, no crowd, no music.
     A caregiver is constantly in the room to prevent her from leaving.  "I have to go to work.  I have a lot of work to do.  I have to go now."    The nurse raised the side of the bed and gently laid her back down.  "No Senora, no es posible."