Yes, dementia and Alzheimer's is very sad. Relatives, friends and loved ones go through a lot of grieving even while the person is alive, and still not too bad -able to eat, enjoy things etc. Because they appear to have 'lost' that person.
But in my mother's case it was not all sad. Through it all, and through her cognitive decline, I could still see/intuit that her Soul (the 'place her heart was at') was still very much intact. She was still there in some essential way.
There were some hilarious moments too. My aunt visited often and after one of her visits my mother said, "I have worked out who those people are."
I asked her "Which people?"
"The fat woman..." (uh-oh....my aunt, and she's not really that fat!) "...And that other woman with the lovely dog."
"The woman with the dog is me." I replied, "And the dog is Misty."
"No," she said, "You're HERE. I don't mean YOU, I mean the people who visited just now."
"O...kaaay..."
"They spend all day going round peoples' houses eating biscuits and drinking coffee," She answered, "And then they go home for dinner. That's why that other woman is so fat. They just look round peoples' houses all day and eat any food offered to them!"
It was very funny sometimes. Even when I burst out laughing, my mother would have a geat big grin on her face and laugh until she had to wipe her eyes, and I would hug her and we'd laugh together until we nearly fell over. She hadn't a clue what we were laughing at but we had a great time over similar incidents.
But in my mother's case it was not all sad. Through it all, and through her cognitive decline, I could still see/intuit that her Soul (the 'place her heart was at') was still very much intact. She was still there in some essential way.
There were some hilarious moments too. My aunt visited often and after one of her visits my mother said, "I have worked out who those people are."
I asked her "Which people?"
"The fat woman..." (uh-oh....my aunt, and she's not really that fat!) "...And that other woman with the lovely dog."
"The woman with the dog is me." I replied, "And the dog is Misty."
"No," she said, "You're HERE. I don't mean YOU, I mean the people who visited just now."
"O...kaaay..."
"They spend all day going round peoples' houses eating biscuits and drinking coffee," She answered, "And then they go home for dinner. That's why that other woman is so fat. They just look round peoples' houses all day and eat any food offered to them!"
It was very funny sometimes. Even when I burst out laughing, my mother would have a geat big grin on her face and laugh until she had to wipe her eyes, and I would hug her and we'd laugh together until we nearly fell over. She hadn't a clue what we were laughing at but we had a great time over similar incidents.
