This is my first post on this or any other website for that matter!
My darling dad passed away on 31st March this year. He had been diagnosed with vascular dementia after a series of small strokes.
At the time of his diagnosis I had only a very vague idea of what that would mean for his and our future and, maybe stupidly, I avoided any sources of information such as this forum as I was terrified by what I may read. I am still not sure if that was a wise decision on my part, but it is done now.
Dad was eventually sectioned into a dementia ward and whilst the care provided was very good, he was initially very unhappy on the ward, spent his time attempting to get out of the ward and then had a fall whilst trying to climb out of the window in his room. He broke a bone in this fall and from then on went down hill so rapidly it was only a couple of months until his passing.
Watching his decline was heartbreaking. My dad and I were so very close, I was always a daddy's girl and feel like I'm living in a kind of half world without him. I keep hoping this awful feeling of dislocation from the rest of the world will lift in the way that a fog clears, but there seems to be no sign of that happening. I also can't seem to remember my dad before he was ill in hospital;I have these horrible images of him as he was in the wheel chair. He had been such an active, capable, clever man and what this disease did to him was so diminishing and cruel.
I am glad I have found this forum, despite the tears I keep shedding when I read other people's stories. I have no idea if it helps to know others feel the same heartache, but perhaps it will, so it's worth trying.
My darling dad passed away on 31st March this year. He had been diagnosed with vascular dementia after a series of small strokes.
At the time of his diagnosis I had only a very vague idea of what that would mean for his and our future and, maybe stupidly, I avoided any sources of information such as this forum as I was terrified by what I may read. I am still not sure if that was a wise decision on my part, but it is done now.
Dad was eventually sectioned into a dementia ward and whilst the care provided was very good, he was initially very unhappy on the ward, spent his time attempting to get out of the ward and then had a fall whilst trying to climb out of the window in his room. He broke a bone in this fall and from then on went down hill so rapidly it was only a couple of months until his passing.
Watching his decline was heartbreaking. My dad and I were so very close, I was always a daddy's girl and feel like I'm living in a kind of half world without him. I keep hoping this awful feeling of dislocation from the rest of the world will lift in the way that a fog clears, but there seems to be no sign of that happening. I also can't seem to remember my dad before he was ill in hospital;I have these horrible images of him as he was in the wheel chair. He had been such an active, capable, clever man and what this disease did to him was so diminishing and cruel.
I am glad I have found this forum, despite the tears I keep shedding when I read other people's stories. I have no idea if it helps to know others feel the same heartache, but perhaps it will, so it's worth trying.