Dec 2, 2014 I found Mom in the floor of her barn. I thought she had only fallen down but she was having a stroke. The next morning she was having brain surgery. She recovered pretty quickly and was nearly back to normal in a couple of months. She was back to driving and doing her thing for several months.
July 12, 2015 She woke Becky in the middle of the night because she knew she was having another stroke. Brain surgery again the following morning and the bleed was almost in the same spot in her brain. This time, it affected her much more.
October of 2016 and Mom still has trouble standing. Her left arm is flaccid. She can't read books anymore. She gets confused easily. She doesn't want to admit it but she has dementia. She is a fall risk at all times. Her voice is now soft and sometimes she can't speak clearly. She believes her dreams are real. She's bitter, depressed and unhappy that she hasn't recovered. She imagines sounds that aren't there and sees things that are only in her head. She's constantly saying that she hears water running. If there are parsley flakes in her food, she's convinced that they are bugs. Her sense of time is way off. She shows improvement when she puts in the effort but then will get angry for a few days and won't do the work she needs to improve...so she regresses quickly. She's her own worst enemy.
Caring for her is a constant battle. She has no patience and believes that we are keeping her mail and affairs from her. The VA declared her incompetent so Becky was appointed her fiduciary to handle her money affairs. She believes that Becky and I are trying to get her money. She wants me to go to the bank and get her cash so she can keep an eye on it. She'll hide it and then can't remember where she put it...so she thinks someone stole it. I won't get her cash anymore. She decided she needs her debit card so she can order Christmas gifts (using her cell) that she sees on television
She gets on her phone and calls people accusing us of abusing her and basically robbing her. I keep trying to get it through to her that she's home where she's loved and we're trying to keep her best interests covered. She's going to get a rude awakening when she has to be at a home where they do take all of her money. Her personal belongings will be swiped all the time and the people caring for her won't really care if she's happy or comfortable. They surely won't try as hard to make her improve.
I've fought the good fight for about as long as I can handle.
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