My dad has rapidly developing dementia

[HelsH]

My lovely dad has got rapidly developing dementia. He's in a care home now, but his dementia has deteriorated rapidly, so we need to find a nursing home for him.
I miss him horribly and would welcome any advice on how to deal with the situation. My Dad isn't my Dad anymore, but he's still here. It feels like a bereavement.

 

[karaokePete]

Hello and welcome @HelsH.

You are correct in saying your feelings are like a bereavement. This is common with dementia and is called anticipatory grief.

You are also correct in saying that your Dad is still there. It's just that he is getting buried under his dementia symptoms so will be harder to understand and reach.

I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications. If you are interested in this, clicking the following link will take you there

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list

You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with all aspects of dementia.

Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.

 

[la lucia]

My lovely dad has got rapidly developing dementia. He's in a care home now, but his dementia has deteriorated rapidly, so we need to find a nursing home for him.
I miss him horribly and would welcome any advice on how to deal with the situation. My Dad isn't my Dad anymore, but he's still here. It feels like a bereavement.

That's exactly how I felt too with my dad. But I decided to try and go along with him and the dementia home he was in was pretty good. The staff got him mobile after a long hospital stay and it was a beautiful setting. He thought he was in a posh hotel.

I concentrated on trying to find things he could enjoy, simple activities, company even. And when he was finally bed bound the care home staff built a big bird table outside his window. But you are right, the person is still there even if they go somewhere else a lot of times.

 

[AztecCamera87]

My lovely dad has got rapidly developing dementia. He's in a care home now, but his dementia has deteriorated rapidly, so we need to find a nursing home for him.
I miss him horribly and would welcome any advice on how to deal with the situation. My Dad isn't my Dad anymore, but he's still here. It feels like a bereavement.

My dad has no diagnosis of dementia yet, but it's getting to the point where it's really obvious. It's very sad, I feel the exact same, it feels like a bereavement, his personality has changed and the decline has been pretty rapid over the past year.