We went to the doctor the other day and Mom got the bad news. Her short-term memory and ability to learn new skills is only 20% of other 78 year olds. Mom has been forgetful for a few years and the mini-strokes have taken their toll. She’s very scattered and has lost her organizational skills. She can’t keep track of anything and struggles to get on the internet and to play a DVD on her television.

The doctor’s put her through a complete workup to identify the source of her headaches and forgetfullness. While it’s not Alzheimer’s, they’re treating it like it is. She’s now trying some medications to see if it will stabilize her memory and to prevent further memory loss. Her memory may improve a little but it won’t return to normal.

It’s hard watching a woman that was completely obsessed with cleanliness and neatness lose her ability to keep track of things. She’s constantly misplacing things and looking for something. She lost her wedding ring a few weeks ago and we still haven’t found it. It’s really hard to watch. It’s going to get a lot harder for us.

Mom is very healthy overall but her memory loss and arthritis are slowing her down. We pray that she doesn’t live to be 104 like her father or even 90 like her mother. Seeing her fade away for another 12 or 26 years would be really hard to watch.

Tags: Alheimer’s, getting old, , memory loss

Popularity: 95% [?]

My mother is having a really hard time remembering things for the past couple of weeks. She’s been absent minded for a few years but nothing like she’s been since I left for vacation a few weeks ago. Something has changed dramatically and she’s really struggling to get through the day by herself because she keeps misplacing things and forgetting what she’s doing in the middle of it.

She calls me constantly throughout the day and most of the time forgets why she called. She’ll write notes to herself and misplaces the notes. She can’t keep her apartment organized and keeps losing important papers. I took over the bill paying when she was in Philadelphia and most of those bills disappeared once she moved. Now she has just a few bills to pay and she wanted to pay them herself.

I showed her numerous times how to pay them online but everytime she logs in, it’s like it’s the first time she’s seen the bill paying screen. Just a few months ago she could handle paying the bills. The other day I decided to see what was going on with her bills because I got a call from Sears about a late bill. I discovered she started using all of her credit cards again and was charging one or two small purchases on numerous cards.

We took away her cards so she could just use her debit card but she reordered the cards by herself. She had 3 cards with small purchases and now a few months of late fees. A $20 purchase is going to cost her almost $100! We’re trying to help her out but she’s getting defiant because she wants to do it herself. I encourage her to keep active and involved but she just flat out forgets to do important things.

Now she’s fighting us to let her drive her car. The doctor said not to drive until they figure out what’s happening with her memory but she’s taking the car to Long’s and other short trips. We’re going to have to take away her car or contact the DMV to revoke her license if she keeps this up. Oh Dad! We really miss you and I can’t believe how you did for her. You have to be the most patient man that every lived because Mom is ultra-high maintenance!!

Tags: seniorcare, seniors driving, memory loss, late bill payments

Popularity: 88% [?]

My mother is officially on the road again. She ventured out to Long’s to pick up some things and made it back safely (it’s only about 300 yards from her apartment). We’re very concerned about her driving because she’s unfamiliar with the area and she’s very confused most of the time. We think she’s dehydrated, causing headaches and memory loss. I told her she needs to drink at least 8 bottles of water daily and she said there’s no way she can do that. She limits her liquid intake because she’s incontinent.

We’re going back to the doctor for more tests tomorrow. They’ve done CAT scans and brain scans and they can’t find anything wrong. Mom is very forgetful and confused most of the time. She seems to be getting worse and is starting to become defiant. Her doctor told her not to drive but she’s ignoring him. I hope we don’t get to the point of having to take away her license and keys to her car.

She wants to do her own taxes and pay her own bills but she keeps losing everything. i got a call from Sears today about a past due bill. She charged $19 on her credit card and forget to pay the bill. Now there’s a $29 late fee on top of the $19 plus interest. I really want her to take care of her own bills but she just can’t do it anymore. It’s so hard to watch. We really have to keep her off the road so she doesn’t get hurt or hurt someone else.

Popularity: 89% [?]