Mom has made a remarkable recovery! A couple months ago it was dubious if she would resume eating enough to live much longer. After several weeks of very slow progress, she seemed to turn the corner and really get back to close to the level of energy, etc., she had before.
So today we (my husband and I) took her from her dementia home over to visit Dad at his nursing home. When we got to the dementia home, Mom was engrossed in conversation with a male resident, Ed. she didn't seem too pleased to see me/us, pointed at me saying "Bad", and mostly ignored us. When I tried to take her hand she shook me off. After a while and a distraction by a passing aide, we mentioned going to see Dad. She was agreeable to that ... in theory. Getting her disengaged from Ed and out the door (past the dog, the balloons, the cat, the interesting picture on the wall, etc.....) still took a long time.
Getting her into the car was a minor challenge. Once in the car, when we were on the freeway, she opened the door. That was exciting, but she was belted in and the wind pressure kept the door from opening much. The visit went OK; she recognized Dad and was glad to see him.
Getting her back into the dining room at the dementia home when we returned her was a repeat of getting her out -- slow, with many distractions, she was unwilling to be led. Running into Ed again ended any chance of further progress. They tried to include me in their conversation, but I wasn't too successful at it. Mom did tell Ed I was her daughter, so she knows who I am if not my name. At one point she waid "You shouldn't say things like that here," so perhaps I had misspoke.
So, overall things are going OK, but Mom is increasingly in another world, another reality. and I'm still stuck feeling like she's my mother and it means something when she "rejects" or "admonishes" me.
Karen
So today we (my husband and I) took her from her dementia home over to visit Dad at his nursing home. When we got to the dementia home, Mom was engrossed in conversation with a male resident, Ed. she didn't seem too pleased to see me/us, pointed at me saying "Bad", and mostly ignored us. When I tried to take her hand she shook me off. After a while and a distraction by a passing aide, we mentioned going to see Dad. She was agreeable to that ... in theory. Getting her disengaged from Ed and out the door (past the dog, the balloons, the cat, the interesting picture on the wall, etc.....) still took a long time.
Getting her into the car was a minor challenge. Once in the car, when we were on the freeway, she opened the door. That was exciting, but she was belted in and the wind pressure kept the door from opening much. The visit went OK; she recognized Dad and was glad to see him.
Getting her back into the dining room at the dementia home when we returned her was a repeat of getting her out -- slow, with many distractions, she was unwilling to be led. Running into Ed again ended any chance of further progress. They tried to include me in their conversation, but I wasn't too successful at it. Mom did tell Ed I was her daughter, so she knows who I am if not my name. At one point she waid "You shouldn't say things like that here," so perhaps I had misspoke.
So, overall things are going OK, but Mom is increasingly in another world, another reality. and I'm still stuck feeling like she's my mother and it means something when she "rejects" or "admonishes" me.
Karen