95% clarity for the past 6 days for mom after 5 years of steady decline.

Ame

We are truly at a loss with what to do next.  Mom has been on a steady decline for the past 5 years after diagnosis of dementia.  She is pretty high functioning in regards to self care, however; cannot cook, clean, pay bills, keep appointments/make appointments, etc.  My brother is living with her and is at wits end with what to do.  She repeatedly used to tell him how thankful she is that he's there to help her, however; she's begun to resent him being there and for keeping her safe.  She believes she's fine and doesn't need anyone telling her what to do.  She cannot be left alone and she doesn't want him there so we called in Palliative Care to help.  She had it in her mind that "you're just putting me away and washing your hands of me."  In fact, we are trying to get help from the outside in order to keep her in her home as long as we can.  On the day Palliative Care arrived, she was taking and behaving like she used to be 5 years ago and beyond.  Almost total clarity and recall (even recent events).  We are dumbfounded.  This has been going on for the past 6 days.  Does anyone have experience with such a thing?  Is it possible she's been manipulating most things and us and when she believed we were "putting her away" she is able to pull it together and fake it to make it?  But 6 days of clarity is incomprehensible.  For the past 6 days, I haven't had good conversations with my mom like this in over 5 years.  Is this a miracle.  What is going on?

Quilting brings calm

Often they can pull things together for a short time and act ‘normal’.  It’s known as showtiming.  For example, my Mom had a NP appointment this week at the memory clinic, same  NP she’s seen for 4 times now.  She got a new 15 minute test score.  2 points BETTER than 15 months  ago.  So of course the NP won’t budge off the MCI diagnosis.   Yet Mom asked me the same two questions at least a dozen times each in 3 hours.  The score  she got indicates she should be able to live alone.  Yet there is no way.  She can’t drive, cook, clean, pay bills, etc.   I’ve gotten 5 phone calls from her in 15 minutes this morning about her medication - which the facility  manages, but her pill pack box was empty this morning.   

in your mom’s case, 6 days is a long time to showtime.  5 years is a long time to be minimally functional due to anxiety and depression( if that is applicable for her). You might need to ask for a physical exam to see what her physical health is.  Unfortunately there is some thing called terminal lucidity, which occurs in the last few months of life. I’m just an armchair quarterback here, so I’m just mentioning a theory-  do not assume I know anything specifically about your mom. 

May flowers

Ame, I posted something similar a while ago - we had two solid weeks of lucidity (my FIL is stage 7) - and we were dumbfounded. The ability to communicate was the only thing that improved, his cognition and ability to do things still declined. 

Now, he is back to very little conversation, but it was nice while it lasted. I don’t know if it was terminal lucidity, but the hospice nurse did not think he was anywhere near dying, so it must have just been a fluke. I do think it is important to let her doctor know what is happening, but overall, I think anything is possible, including a prolonged stretch of clarity. Enjoy it while you can and be emotionally prepared for it to go away as well.  

Iris L.

I believe some PWDs have communication in them, it just needs to be brought out.  Teepa Snow can bring out communication.  There is a video of a man who appears stuporous, but when he is given music from his day, he "wakes up" and proceeds to talk about the music and musicians he had worked with and a lot of other things.  It was always in him.  This is on YouTube if you want to search for it.

Iris