Special Torture (or how to grin and bear it)

Category Archives: dementia

Mishaps

December 21, 2020 | Alzheimer's, caregiving, dementia, life | Permalink

Yesterday, my dad used a Le Creuset baking dish to try to fry an egg on the stove top. When he cracked the egg into the dish, it shattered into 30 pieces. Today, my mom put toothpaste on a bar of soap in order to brush her teeth. THIS later insanity, I caught in the […]

New Feature! Things my dad can’t remember!

December 9, 2020 | dementia, life | Permalink

Things my dad can’t remember : What happened yesterday. The date, day of the week. How to manage his own finances. That my mom can no longer eat certain foods, and/or needs help in the bathroom and on the stairs. That I have begged him on more than on occasion not to watch violent or […]

Just Plain sad.

March 17, 2020 | Alzheimer's, dementia, life, patriarchy | Permalink

My Aunt died today. A quick and intense battle with ALS. I guess if I could choose 5-month struggle with ALS or years and years with Alzheimer’s… oh, man.  So I told my mom first thing in the morning. She is weirdly spared her grieving today as she can’t seem to remember for more than […]

ugh.

March 12, 2020 | Alzheimer's, dementia, health, life | Permalink

Things my mom can’t remember : What happened 5 minutes ago. That her sister is dying. That there is a global pandemic. The year, month, day of the week. I want all of this to seem shocking and unreasonable, but the truth is it’s totally mundane. Millions of people in this country alone can’t remember […]

The Things We Know

March 2, 2020 | Alzheimer's, caregiving, dementia, life | Permalink

My mom started showing signs of dementia right around the time my kid was born. Maybe even before. That was six years ago. I took her to see her first neurologist 5 years ago. We were sent home with the advice that my mom should exercise more. “There was nothing to be done,” they told […]