Hi everyone. I don’t know whether there’s anyone still here who remembers me, and my cries for help some years ago now, but just in case ...
Sadly, my mam passed away last month. She was 81 and had had Alzheimer’s for about 12/13 years, I think, and diagnosed when she was 70.
For almost all of that time she lived with my dad, who gave her truly exceptional care, filled with love and devotion - I’m very proud of and grateful to him for that. Sadly, following a hospital stay around the time of lockdown, during which she lost her mobility and wasn’t allowed to return home, she had to go into a nursing home. We then didn’t see her at all for several months - I know there will have been many on here who were in the same boat and, unfortunately, will understand exactly what it was like. Pretty tortuous. What a horrible year it’s been for everyone.
Eventually, garden and window visits were allowed, and apart from the Alzheimer’s, mam seemed to be in reasonably good health, and was well looked after, for which we were grateful, so it came as a huge shock when she died. Our one consolation is that it was peaceful - she just went to sleep one evening and didn’t wake up. Dad was devastated, naturally. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I’m still not, to be honest, and I still cry when I think of him getting that phone call.
But we’ve been managing okay, on the whole. We’re very close, speak most days, and see each other at least a couple of times a week - he’s in our bubble - and he’s coping with this strange new life very well, considering. He’s a mentally strong person, and also he still likes to protect me, his little girl, but I’m sure he still has his moments, in private.
So, that’s my update, after such a long absence. I’m sorry it’s such a sad one. I wasn’t sure whether to post, but friends I made here said that I should; that people who might remember me would like to know.
I keep telling myself that at long last my mam’s free. Maybe one day that’ll comfort me.
Thank you, everyone, for everything you helped me with in those early, bewildering days.
Sadly, my mam passed away last month. She was 81 and had had Alzheimer’s for about 12/13 years, I think, and diagnosed when she was 70.
For almost all of that time she lived with my dad, who gave her truly exceptional care, filled with love and devotion - I’m very proud of and grateful to him for that. Sadly, following a hospital stay around the time of lockdown, during which she lost her mobility and wasn’t allowed to return home, she had to go into a nursing home. We then didn’t see her at all for several months - I know there will have been many on here who were in the same boat and, unfortunately, will understand exactly what it was like. Pretty tortuous. What a horrible year it’s been for everyone.
Eventually, garden and window visits were allowed, and apart from the Alzheimer’s, mam seemed to be in reasonably good health, and was well looked after, for which we were grateful, so it came as a huge shock when she died. Our one consolation is that it was peaceful - she just went to sleep one evening and didn’t wake up. Dad was devastated, naturally. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I’m still not, to be honest, and I still cry when I think of him getting that phone call.
But we’ve been managing okay, on the whole. We’re very close, speak most days, and see each other at least a couple of times a week - he’s in our bubble - and he’s coping with this strange new life very well, considering. He’s a mentally strong person, and also he still likes to protect me, his little girl, but I’m sure he still has his moments, in private.
So, that’s my update, after such a long absence. I’m sorry it’s such a sad one. I wasn’t sure whether to post, but friends I made here said that I should; that people who might remember me would like to know.
I keep telling myself that at long last my mam’s free. Maybe one day that’ll comfort me.
Thank you, everyone, for everything you helped me with in those early, bewildering days.
