Some of you may have noticed I've been pretty scarce around here for several months. Just wanted to stop in and say hello. Between work and home, haven't had a lot of time for my favorite website (yes INGO!).
My mom has been having some cognitive issues, she's 87. It got to the point where my siblings and I together decided that Mom just needed more assistance than she was getting at home, and she wasn't open to having a stranger come in to provide assistance and live there during the week. We tried that with my dad in his final years, and things started disappearing from the house, which understandably left a bad taste in my mom's mouth.
We moved her into an assisted living center. Now she's been having gradually more serious cognitive issues. Her neurologist told us it may be early stages of Alzheimer's, but the tests for that are very expensive, and even if they come back positive, there is not much they can do.
It is a lesson in patience for me, someone who has never had much in that department. My mom was a school teacher, a very sharp and intelligent person, her students really loved her, although she was a tough teacher. It's hard for her, because she sees it happening to herself. It's hard for me, because she will ask you the same question 20 times in an hour. I told my dad I would take good care of my mom, sometimes its tough to remain calm and kind, but it's not her fault, that's mine, and I am learning, albeit slowly. Thank God my wife is there and much better at this than I am. I can only imagine how hard it was for her to be calm and understanding with me growing up.
So sorry for the long story, but although I've never met most of you, I consider you my friends. Please keep my mom in your prayers.
My mom has been having some cognitive issues, she's 87. It got to the point where my siblings and I together decided that Mom just needed more assistance than she was getting at home, and she wasn't open to having a stranger come in to provide assistance and live there during the week. We tried that with my dad in his final years, and things started disappearing from the house, which understandably left a bad taste in my mom's mouth.
We moved her into an assisted living center. Now she's been having gradually more serious cognitive issues. Her neurologist told us it may be early stages of Alzheimer's, but the tests for that are very expensive, and even if they come back positive, there is not much they can do.
It is a lesson in patience for me, someone who has never had much in that department. My mom was a school teacher, a very sharp and intelligent person, her students really loved her, although she was a tough teacher. It's hard for her, because she sees it happening to herself. It's hard for me, because she will ask you the same question 20 times in an hour. I told my dad I would take good care of my mom, sometimes its tough to remain calm and kind, but it's not her fault, that's mine, and I am learning, albeit slowly. Thank God my wife is there and much better at this than I am. I can only imagine how hard it was for her to be calm and understanding with me growing up.
So sorry for the long story, but although I've never met most of you, I consider you my friends. Please keep my mom in your prayers.
