JackSpratt
Registered User

Look at this, nothing for a year, then two posts in a day!! Thought I'd share this experience as it moved me and also made me laugh.

Mum, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's just under a year and a half ago, was asked by the memory clinic she's involved with if she would be prepared to be filmed doing an interview about her condition. It is to be shown at an Alzheimer's conference. I had a chat with her about it and she seemed comfortable doing it (and she used to be a professional

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Seems a year has slipped by since my last post. The good news is, Mum's still doing OK - active, living independently and on the whole on a pretty even keel.

Her annual trip in Feb to see my older brother and his kids in the States once again went without a hitch and she had a great time. She even managed to come back via Miami to see a good friend. I was a bit anxious about the additional flight and associated complication, but she handled it fine with some chaperoning at either

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So Mum went to and returned from the USA just fine - visiting my brother John and her grand-kids (11 & 8 yr old twins). She had her birthday over there followed hot on the heals by Easter so no shortage of celebrations and fun.

Her grand-kids (my nieces and nephew) are of an age now where they know who this white haired old(er) lady with a 'funny' accent is (Skype has helped a lot with that) and they made a big fuss of her, which obviously Mum loved to death.

Apparently

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A day or so after Mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, I spoke to my brother John about it to fill him in. He lives in the United States so he's not going to be popping round with some shortbread biscuits or Downton Abbey DVD every other Sunday! We talked at length and I described how Mum was handling it, what I was up to and anything that he could help with albeit at arm's length.

Firstly I wanted him to back me up when speaking to Mum, make sure he tells Mum that I'm doing

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So it happened. A week ago last Wednesday Mum was formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. This didn't come as a bolt out of the blue. I guess Alzheimer's rarely does, especially not for close family who see the changes and contraction of ability in their loved one. Even for the sufferer, at the minimum they're probably aware something's changing - forgetting where you left your keys a bit too often or that constant and frustrating hunt for names that should trip off the tongue with ease. Maybe

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