My mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2010. This is a blog about coming to terms with her absent mind.

Friday 12 August 2011

Mending

This afternoon she looked so much better. Thank goodness!

She was bright and alert but very very very confused. She told me lots of tales about going on trips to the seaside with the ladies in the beds across from her etc. Nothing I hadn't expected and quite amusing.

What did distress me was when I handed her the cards which had arrived in the post this morning. She studied each envelope very carefully, looking at the front and turning it over and over in her hands. Then put them all aside because she clearly didn't know what to do with them. I suggested she might like to open them so out they came again. She studied each one very carefully, once again reading the front, then with a bit of gentle prompting remembered that you have to tear across the top . Which she did. And then put them aside again.

Eventually with a little more prompting she did remove the cards from the envelopes but couldn't interpret the handwriting so it was all a bit of a lesson for me. In future perhaps I should just open the cards on her behalf and tell her who they are from? It just feels wrong to open a card or letter addressed to someone else and it is taking yet another function (is that the word I'm looking for?) away from her. But it is clear that she is no longer able to do this.

Apologies if this post is dodgy. I'm in the throes of a migraine - all aura, no pain, which mans I can't see the screen properly to check my speeling ;)

2 comments:

  1. I'm not surprised you have a migraine. Hospital visiting is so tiring. So glad she is physically on the mend. I remember questioning all the things I did and didn't do for him after my dad has his stroke! Sleep tight and hope the sun shines and she is brighter tomorrow! xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ask her, would she like you to? And don't take anything away from her she can still do. But I'm guessing you are way ahead of me there. Stressy, sad time, Bee. You're handling it amazingly. PS. Realise sometimes it doesn't seem that way. :) x

    ReplyDelete