I hope nobody minds me just rambling to myself for 5 minutes.
OH had a stroke in April 2011, she was actually making decent progress while the weather was dry and sunny and she could go out for short walks. We thought that full memory and rational thinking would return soon, she had made almost a full recovery from her previous stroke in 2005.
When the memory clinic said she had early signs of vascular dementia in the spring of 2012 we thought that was something to deal with some time in the future, but not yet. She was still carrying on with occasional stalls at antiques fairs, with varying degrees of success, until UTIs meant we cancelled more than we actually attended. Thanks to the organisers and fellow stall holders for being so understanding in the most part.
Then in Sept 2013 she had a fit or a seizure. The docs never quite confirmed exactly what happened, but it was scary when she had the second one while trapped in the ambulance due to some problem with the ramp. That was outside A&E. She went onto medication to stop the fits and to prevent UTIs which did eventually help to settle her down, but she was never the same again. Being discharged while slightly confused by a UTI and going to the toilet in the middle of the night in the front garden, with a readmission 6 hours after discharge was not a good start. She did get a care package at that stage, which has been patchy but is settling down. She was readmitted to hospital as a precaution after a bad episode in 2014, but has managed to stay out for a year and a half.
So, I am just trying to work out whether it is the stroke, the dementia, the UTIs or the fit/seizure which is the biggest contributor to memory and rational thinking loss. I suppose they did say the dementia would get worse in stages and those were the stages, so should not be too surprised. On top of everything her daughter has been unwell all last year, adding to my responsibilities and OHs worries.
Thank you for reading, just needed to work out where we are and how we got here. I am pleased I have found this forum, through the care support centre who were also very helpful.
OH had a stroke in April 2011, she was actually making decent progress while the weather was dry and sunny and she could go out for short walks. We thought that full memory and rational thinking would return soon, she had made almost a full recovery from her previous stroke in 2005.
When the memory clinic said she had early signs of vascular dementia in the spring of 2012 we thought that was something to deal with some time in the future, but not yet. She was still carrying on with occasional stalls at antiques fairs, with varying degrees of success, until UTIs meant we cancelled more than we actually attended. Thanks to the organisers and fellow stall holders for being so understanding in the most part.
Then in Sept 2013 she had a fit or a seizure. The docs never quite confirmed exactly what happened, but it was scary when she had the second one while trapped in the ambulance due to some problem with the ramp. That was outside A&E. She went onto medication to stop the fits and to prevent UTIs which did eventually help to settle her down, but she was never the same again. Being discharged while slightly confused by a UTI and going to the toilet in the middle of the night in the front garden, with a readmission 6 hours after discharge was not a good start. She did get a care package at that stage, which has been patchy but is settling down. She was readmitted to hospital as a precaution after a bad episode in 2014, but has managed to stay out for a year and a half.
So, I am just trying to work out whether it is the stroke, the dementia, the UTIs or the fit/seizure which is the biggest contributor to memory and rational thinking loss. I suppose they did say the dementia would get worse in stages and those were the stages, so should not be too surprised. On top of everything her daughter has been unwell all last year, adding to my responsibilities and OHs worries.
Thank you for reading, just needed to work out where we are and how we got here. I am pleased I have found this forum, through the care support centre who were also very helpful.