Dementia

[poliphilo]

My mother and I were watching a documentary about dementia last night. I didn't think she'd register what was going on- and I was right, she didn't. A lot of the people featured knew there was something wrong with them, but my mother doesn't. We've never had her condition diagnosed and I can't see the point; we don't need a doctor to confirm what we already know. Besides, she's perfectly happy- happier, so far as I can tell, than she was a year ago.

I was talking to our next door neighbour yesterday afternoon. Her mother- who lives in Maine- has dementia too. They recently had a phone conversation that went something like this.

Mother: I  broke my leg.

Neighbour. I know. I spent the summer looking after you. Don't you remember?

Mother: No.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My mother has a remarkable memory for words- and can still
do crosswords. I'm not sure about her long term memory because she was never one to reminisce. The other day I had to tell her which year it was; she seemed surprised we'd got as far as the 21st century.