My grandmother has later stage Alzheimer’s and has deteriorated very quickly. She has been in the same state for the last 4 years now. She has lost all ability to self-care and virtually all ability to communicate. It is utterly heart-breaking. Even more heart-breaking is watching my grandad deal with this pain. My heart breaks at how apologetic he is for his grieving state. I want to be able to take both of their pain away but feel conflicted in my own head. I feel selfish for wanting my grandma to be let free of this disease, and I feel distraught that my grandad is clinging on to every glimmer of hope. On top of this I have my own feelings to deal with, and it just feels like there’s so much helplessness involved. Every person in this situation is helpless and for years now, I have been able to come to terms with the situation, however I feel my resilience is starting to disintegrate.
Does anybody else have any coping strategies to share to deal with these conflicting thoughts?
Does anybody else have any coping strategies to share to deal with these conflicting thoughts?