On Christmas Day, my Mom went into the hospital for a short stay and had a CT scan. We didn't find out the results of the scan until a few weeks later at her PC dr visit, when the report was given to me. The dr didn't say anything, except to note that Mom had a sinus infection, but it stated that she had moderate atrophy of the brain. Today Mom went in again, and I had the opportunity to speak the dr privately, as Mom's memory and confusion has been getting progressively worse. She confirmed for me that this is most likely Alzheimer's, and that she has forwarded the report to her neurologist, and that she would likely benefit from Aricept or something similar. Mom doesn't see the neurologist until Feb 26th (soonest available appt) and still doesn't know what the CT scan said.
Frankly, this diagnosis scares the heck out of me. I've been with Mom for 4 yrs now, and it's worked out well. But Mom has always been Mom - basically the sweetest woman in the world. I love her more than anything - I don't know that I can stand to watch her turn into something or someone else, or to watch myself become impatient with her because she isn't the mother I've loved.
How did you learn to accept the diagnosis when you first learned of it if it was someone you were especially close to? Next to my husband, Mom is my best friend. I know it's the natural order that parents die. I was prepared to accept that. I guess I wasn't really prepared to accept Alzheimer's.
I know we read about grown children dealing with a parent who has memory issues and the different things that are happening, so that in itself can be quite scary. But it also tells me that each case might be different.
She has Ativan and Tylenol 3 she can take as needed. I put the pills for the day in bottles and she can take them as she wants. That has certainly saved a lot of trouble for both of us. So far she has managed these two PRN drugs well.
There are little things we can do when handling medicines that let them feel that they are still in control of things. I think that is important.
Mom had an accident last night (she cleaned it up herself and didn't tell me about it until this morning). Then she said she'd quit taking the laxatives after her last accident (last Sunday), and went back to Miralax. I wanted to tell her "What do you think MiraLAX is????" while shaking her, but of course, didn't. This is something my younger, smarter, mother, would have known. Sigh.
Today is a new day, and she's really looking forward to the Super Bowl. Go Seahawks!