The Double Whammy

Most of my posts in the past have been about my dad and his battle with dementia but today going to talk about my mom. We have known that my mother has been having some memory problems herself, dating back for the last 1.5 to 2 years, roughly. So, in August, we took my mom in for a neuropsychological evaluation. The results came back with a dementia diagnosis, significant cognitive impairment, likely Alzheimers type dementia. So, mom and dad, ages 70 and 72, both have dementia. The double whammy. We have now started mom on the same memory medications that my dad has been on, so hopefully that will slows things down. But the whole situation remains very difficult for me to wrap my mind around.

Another thing that has occurred to me recently is the number of head injuries my dad may have had during his lifetime. He played a lot of football during an era of thin leather helmets, and his occupation left him open to physical injuries. I can remember his head being cut or bloodied many times. He also rode motorcycles and for a while semi-pro, he once had a wreck in which his jaw was broken and his teeth had to be wired shut for several weeks. Leaves me wondering how much of this accumulated history may be impacting his current condition.

The other news is that we have moved my folks to a new assisted living/dementia care home. The place is significantly nicer and we hope that they will be much more comfortable there.

Thanks be to God....JP