I actually chuckled and said " So tell me about this daughter." I figured I would get the inside scoop. :-) It was my weekend to spend as the caregiver for my 93 year old mom.
Mom had been suffering with dementia for a while so it really wasn't a total surprise but the truth is you never expect the day to come that your own parent doesn't recognize you. It was just plain weird.
Everyone's experience dealing with a parent with dementia is different. No two dementia patients behave alike and no two days with someone with dementia are the same. Each caregiver has a unique journey.
Mom had delusions. Sometimes it was as if she were a small child giggling and having a good time. Other times she was convinced that she had lost a baby and we had to search the house top to bottom to find the child. I searched under beds, in closets and everywhere trying to satisfy her that there was no baby.
What I learned was you simply have to go with the flow. It is what it is.
Using the same relaxation techniques I have taught others for years I discovered that I could accept and love my mother just the way she was right now. I no longer needed to hope and pray that she would get better I was content with the curiosity of what might be going on inside of that mind of hers. I began to look at each day as an adventure. what journey would I be taking as mom's caregiver today.
So when she told me I looked a lot like her daughter I sat down eager to hear what she had to say!
Get the Caregiver Support you need so you too can learn to go with the flow!
Mom had been suffering with dementia for a while so it really wasn't a total surprise but the truth is you never expect the day to come that your own parent doesn't recognize you. It was just plain weird.
Everyone's experience dealing with a parent with dementia is different. No two dementia patients behave alike and no two days with someone with dementia are the same. Each caregiver has a unique journey.
Mom had delusions. Sometimes it was as if she were a small child giggling and having a good time. Other times she was convinced that she had lost a baby and we had to search the house top to bottom to find the child. I searched under beds, in closets and everywhere trying to satisfy her that there was no baby.
What I learned was you simply have to go with the flow. It is what it is.
Using the same relaxation techniques I have taught others for years I discovered that I could accept and love my mother just the way she was right now. I no longer needed to hope and pray that she would get better I was content with the curiosity of what might be going on inside of that mind of hers. I began to look at each day as an adventure. what journey would I be taking as mom's caregiver today.
So when she told me I looked a lot like her daughter I sat down eager to hear what she had to say!
Get the Caregiver Support you need so you too can learn to go with the flow!
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