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

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

A new week

We had a quiet weekend - no phonecalls, no visitors. The only thing of note was the car journey I blogged about the other day. And watching the Sound of Music for the eleventeenth time this year.

There's a definite shift away from the institutionalised behaviour she was showing after being in respite. I've noticed a return of some of the old behaviours: shouting at the tv, constantly wanting to go 'somewhere' and unfortunately, some pinching and aggression. All of that I can cope with but the return of the night time wandering isn't so welcome. Not least because she can't really walk unaided but obviously thinks she can.

However, one of the most difficult things is getting her to swallow the night time tablet. Often just getting it into her mouth feels like a victory and I feel myself getting worked up about it in the hour or so before. She can then eat an entire sandwich and drink a whole cup of tea before spitting it out again. She generally ends up getting it down by default due to crunching it up and it must taste utterly foul, it's no wonder it is such a distressing thing for her. I got a punch in the eye tonight for my troubles.

On a positive note, there's an absolutely HUGE improvement in the amount she is eating. Breakfast, lunch and tea every day with a biscuit or cake and a cuppa a couple of times during the day. One trick that seems to be working quite well is having a small bowl on the table next to her chair with some small chocolates in it (Whispa Bites, chocolate buttons, that sort of thing). She'll have a few during the day almost without thinking about it.

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I've realised that my attack of the glums is in some part related to the fact that H finishes school in a couple of weeks time. This is the end of an era and makes me feel really emotional despite being so delighted that she will be here to live with me very soon.

Daft really.


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