Well I'm sad to say that one of our parents has gone to sleep in the Lord. My mother suffered with dementia for over 10 years, causing her untold confusion and paranoia. She was in her 80s when it took her life.
Losing your loved one to dementia is a very hard thing to go through and most people don't realize the stress and self questioning it causes for the caregiver. Over the years the tensions and misunderstandings has caused much division within our family and I'm sad to say, it still is even to this day.
At the beginnings of this dreadful disease, my mother suffered from the usual forgetfulness associated with it but she also became much more paranoid. Later on she constantly thought that I was stealing from her or trying to make her take the wrong medicine. Unfortunately she would share these fears with other family members who lived on the other side of the country which made them critical of the care that my wife and I were providing her.
Over the years of helping my mother the best that I could, it's a shame that some of my family couldn't have been more understanding and supportive. I understand that they viewed the situation from afar, and I hold no resentment against them, but it would have lightened the emotional burden if they took the time to understand the effects of this horrible disease and how devastating it can be to the caregiver.
My hopes in sharing this with you is that if one your family members are taking care of a loved one with dementia, please be as understanding and supportive as you can; they really need it.
Take care and God bless!
John
