Dementia

I am having a hard day myself, just don't want to open my eyes to do today's tasks. That isn't fair to everyone in the house or me. My daughter just got over being sick with the flu. Thank goodness it wasn't Covid, but he wasn't able to help me around the house. I was doing everything as far as chores in the house by myself. Now, I don't want to come across as whining, but I'm just exhausted. Yesterday, was another day when my stepdad had to go to the post office. I had to keep telling him, my daughter was sick, and we weren't going anywhere until the next day. He finally understood. He is a lot better than before. Now we have learned to communicate better, but we still have bad days. Routines is very important to someone who has dementia.

You don't know dementia until you live with someone who has chronic dementia, AND top it with it being a loved one. I love when a lot of people were telling me how to deal with it. Like they ever did it before! I had a lot of people call me after my mom passed away to grieve and let me know that they were sorry.

Okay, so I will stay positive. :-)

I asked for help with her husband which had the chronic dementia, nope. Everyone was busy. I know people's schedules are crazy. I understand that, but I never got a phone call to check on me from a few afterwards. I have gotten a helping hand from one friend of mind and my son. But that's it. It's unbelievable that everyone was saying, "I will help you and giving me their condolences." Then Nothing. But that is okay. It shows who is your true friends and family are and who isn't. I learn and I move on. It's as simple as that.

That is the best thing a person can do is learn and move.

Dementia is very hard on caretakers. Caretakers need a lot of help. It takes a lot of patience too. I know being a caretaker, I'v had to be patient many times along with repeating myself by answering the same question.

How do I start to explain what dementia is? Dementia is hard when you have a loved one that is forgetful all the time. Dementia they forget ALL the time but depending on what stage they are in. There is seven stages.

I like to think of loss of memory or dementia like when you are trying to hold sand in your hand. All the sand slowly falls out through your fingers and it's hard for you to hold a memory.

I will start with fidget activities we can do together when I have time. I'm dementia will be so excited.

Dementia loves to fidget. Dementia loves to do things with their hands when they are stressed and agitated. It could be a little stressed out. Either way, I have been wanting to make a blanket or a quilt. This is a perfect opportunity for a quilt to be made and a blanket to be comforting somebody. This is the perfect time for dementia to use their hands to do activities and we can maybe make a quilt or a blanket.

As I have taken care of my stepdad, I have done my own research on dementia. I have learned the basic cognition loss and the deteriation of brain cells. Dementia has different ways of showing on people. Dementia has a wide range of symptoms also.

The best definition so far according to the National Institute of Aging, dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning. It interferes with their life along with their activities.

Dementia has different types. As I research the types of dementia, I see several, so I don't know the exact number. There is quite a bit.

Dementia has stages. It has 7 Stages to be exact.

There is Seven Stages which it gradually gets worse. The dementia stages can go slow to fast, fast to slow, or even. Either way it ends in death. It ends in sadness. It ends in peace because they are no longer in pain. That is the true blessing, they are no longer in pain, and they are in true paradise.

Living with someone who has dementia, I find parts of my dinnerware in different parts of my kitchen. Cleaning the dishes is one of their perks of chores that they love to do in the day. I find dirty dishes put up as if they were clean. They were put up because they were "cleaned" by hot water. I have tried to explain that hot water doesn't clean the dishes enough. You need soap and water or the dish washer. I always have to go back and put them in the dish washer later or wash by hand with soap afterwards.

I have learned a lot of patience. Patience is my friend along with being an observer. This is morning till night, seven days a week.

I used to get so aggravated, but not anymore. I realize that it's dementia. They cannot help it. It's dementia. Dementia will ask me a question then maybe 1-2 minutes later they will ask me the same question over again. This isn't like regular forgetfulness. Maybe it starts that way, but when it gets later in stages, it's worse.

The dementia mind is different. The eyes are blank. They are argumentative because they are always right. They still think they know how to do everything too. They may think they are still doing what they did years ago like in a career for instance.

The mind will think they are still working but they are not. They are so set in routine, and we depend on that routine to help us get by the day. Some days are bad when we depend on something, and we can't do it. We have to have another outlet of distraction or activity.

The best thing we need to do for our bodies and for our family dinners is eat vegetables that have antioxidants. We need to have vitamins and antioxidants because they are highly packed with greatness for our brains. Be very mindful of the colors you eat. Try to eat a lot of reds. They are supposed to be packed with antioxidants. We need to eat well and exercise on a daily basis. Not only do we need to eat well and exercise, but we need to take care of ourselves spiritually too. We do not want to get depressed or shut down by events that are out of our control. We need to take care of ourselves. Be beautiful Always Until next time and please continue to read my readings. Thank you so much.