Start Here - This Insidious Dementia

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Dementia

Do you have a loved one that was just diagnosed with dementia? Are you currently a caregiver of that loved one with dementia or thinking about being the caregiver? Do you have questions about what the future for you and your loved one might be like?

If you answered yes, to any of those questions, then you are in the right place.

If you’re anything like me, you’re going full speed ahead into the world of caregiving. I had no idea what was in store for me. Nor, did I have any idea of how long it would last.

I created this blog to be a source of information for all of you hard working caregivers of loved ones with dementia.

This is my mom, Barbara Jean, whom I’m writing about. She passed away after a 10+ year stretch with dementia. Barbara Jean had red hair and freckles! Thank you Mom, for passing those freckles on to me! Not! We always joked that we didn’t tan – we just freckled more! Mom was stubborn, opinionated, loved her politics and her daily glass of wine. She was also artistic and creative. In the process of settling her estate I’ve often appreciated how Mom was able to really make a house a home. There are pieces of her creativity all over the house!

documents and downsizing

Besides dementia, I’ll talk about downsizing, because that’s what I’ve been working on this past year, and how the adult children are tasked with the disposing/dispensing of a lifetime of household items.

I’ll toss in some talk about documents as you gotta manage those as well!

These 3 topics have been what my life has centered around since I became my mom’s caregiver.

My mom was initially diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. As her caregiver for 6+ years, I’ll tell you about behavior she exhibited, items that we created for her and lessons that we learned along her journey. You’ll get an idea of how her dementia progressed over time and how this insidious disease robs a person of her/her memory.

Why the word Insidious?

I chose the word insidious because I feel it’s a very apt description of dementia. The word insidious means operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect.

My mom went from being a very creative artist to a woman who couldn’t process what to do with a colored pencil ☹️😥. She went from knowing who the members of her family were to not knowing what my name was and how I was related to her and thinking that my brothers were her brothers.

Insidious —> outwardly to just look at her you wouldn’t really know that inwardly all this wasting away was going on.

I’ll mix in a little humor along the way as well -cuz being the caregiver isn’t always fun and God knows, you need a laugh now and then and God also knows, we need laughter to relieve the stress.

You’ll get a taste of Mom’s creativity making the loss of that ability so much sadder as she progressed through the stages.

Mom and Dad had 4 children – 3 boys and then me! The only girl – the baby of the family!

Hi, I’m Karen. I moved back home to live with Mom and be her caregiver when she started exhibiting behavior that indicated she needed someone to be with her.

My background is customer service, collections, insurance claims and teaching. Now, I’m back to customer service. In my spare time you can find me bowling, singing (trying to anyways!) in my church choir, reading, volunteering, or working on a craft project. Yes, I did get some artistic talent from Mom. 😀 My favorite vacation spot is the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.