While my mum is entering the later stages of dementia, I'm becoming increasingly worried about my dad (Mum's primary carer) and my nan (Mum's mum). My dad is still working full time, as he cannot afford to retire yet, and I know he's really been struggling for the last few months. He's always been quite 'stiff upper lip', but just recently he's been uncharacteristically open and emotional when talking to me on the phone, and has stated that he feels like he's 'losing [his] mind' a lot of the time. Mum always said she'd rather die than end up in a 'home', so that's out of the question as far as Dad's concerned. I've offered to help if needed, but live some distance away, and we both know that Mum rarely, if ever, let me help her even in the earlier stages of her dementia.
My nan used to write to me at least once a week for the last 6 years (ever since I went to university), but now the letters and emails have petered out, and this worries me as Mum used to write to me too in my first year at uni - in retrospect I think she stopped because she started to have problems with reading and writing. I know that the lack of communication in itself isn't an indicator of dementia, but it still worries me. Nan is understandably very upset at seeing her daughter fade away before her eyes, not to mention exhausted from frequently driving an almost 300 mile round trip from her house to my parents', and her age (76) makes her even more susceptible to dementia than my mum was (now 53) .
I've read somewhere that there may be a link between stress and dementia, especially stress caused by caring for a loved one. Whether this is true or not, it's undeniable that Mum's illness is having a detrimental effect on my dad and nan's mental health (and by extension, physical health), and I have no idea how to help without potentially offending someone.
My nan used to write to me at least once a week for the last 6 years (ever since I went to university), but now the letters and emails have petered out, and this worries me as Mum used to write to me too in my first year at uni - in retrospect I think she stopped because she started to have problems with reading and writing. I know that the lack of communication in itself isn't an indicator of dementia, but it still worries me. Nan is understandably very upset at seeing her daughter fade away before her eyes, not to mention exhausted from frequently driving an almost 300 mile round trip from her house to my parents', and her age (76) makes her even more susceptible to dementia than my mum was (now 53) .
I've read somewhere that there may be a link between stress and dementia, especially stress caused by caring for a loved one. Whether this is true or not, it's undeniable that Mum's illness is having a detrimental effect on my dad and nan's mental health (and by extension, physical health), and I have no idea how to help without potentially offending someone.
