Memory is not the problem

H1235

My MIL had Alzheimer’s and was almost blissfully unaware of her situation. She forgot about bills, her personal belongings that didn’t fit in her AL apartment, didn’t recognize her own Christmas decorations when brought to her. Every day was a new day. My mom on the other hand has vascular dementia. I sometimes think her memory is better than mine. The problem is her logic, planning, organizing and of course anosognosia. She thinks she can push a lawn mower because she can push her walker. She tires very easily, but wants us to drive her to her house so she can pull weeds in her garden (at a house that no one has lived in for the last year and a half). She remembers everything she has lost and all the things she used to be able to do but can’t. And in many cases she has no understanding why she can’t do these things anymore. I have received many suggestions to change the subject or just tell her I will take her next week. These don’t work since her memory is still so good she would be waiting by the door for me. Are any of you dealing with similar issues. The lack of memory issues is so unlike what others here are experiencing.

__Dolly__

Hi H1235,

My DH is like your mom. I even call him my human post it (he reminds me of things I need to do and buy). My problem with him is that since he still has good memory, he gets irritated and won’t stop looking for something if it gets lost. For example, he lost the battery cover of a flashlight. He won’t stop until he finds it. My easy solution to that is to buy the same object at Amazon and will just announce to him that I found the darn thing. As our favorite motto goes, missing items will just pop up (with a little help from Amazon).

My DH even correctly quotes previous conversations (short or long term) or events. I guess it helps that he’s a retired Neurologist: he has a lot of smart cells in his brain.

Hugs to you,

Dolly