‘Are you faced with having to cope with a family member who suffers from dementia?’
Last summer, I was faced with a life-changing decision of potentially moving back to upstate New York or remaining in Florida due to my mom's health worsening.
I sold my home in Florida & moved back to Pittsford, N.Y., to assist Celia, my 87-year-old mother, who struggles with Vascular Dementia. My oldest brother, Joe, informed me Celia did not want Bruno, my 12-year-old pitbull, to live in her house! Joe diplomatically told our mother she would have to live with Bruno because he is ‘Damian's son in fur!’ 😂🤣
With that said, my mother quickly adapted to Bruno as a result of him following her all over her house. She feeds him baloney a couple of times a week & to top it all off, she never heard this docile pit bark! 🤣😆 One of my greatest fears about moving back home was my mom not accepting Bruno. Currently, Celia is always looking for him to lie on one of the couches in the living room.
I've made the correct choice via prayer, conferring with my brothers & my faith to assist the home health aides (i.e., 24-7) with caring for Celia. Every day the aides & I try not to deviate from mom's routines & we implement systems that keep her anxiety at bay.
It's been a blessing to learn more about mom's life from our lengthy conversations concerning her childhood & struggles of raising five sons with my father, Joseph. On the other hand, it's not easy dealing with my mother's ‘sundowner mindset,'' which causes her to become anxious & cry at the ‘drop of a hat!’
Please tune into the Life is a Classroom podcast 🍎 to discover strategies to cope with a family member suffering from dementia.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-is-a-classroom/id1570152396?i=1000547005256