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Never know when something will trigger profound grief...

Band-Aid's.jpg

I went to get a band-aid for my finger and found this. As my husband's dementia progressed, he couldn't remember the word for Band-Aids. So he took them out of the box and put them in this zip-lock bag and wrote BAND-AIDs on it…. I found myself with tears coming down my cheeks. Such a small thing but such a sadness… I know you all understand. We never know when something will remind us of them. Hugs to you all. 💜

Comments

  • howhale
    howhale Member Posts: 102
    100 Care Reactions 25 Insightfuls Reactions 25 Likes 10 Comments
    Member

    I have found and keep finding things that trigger my breakdown response. It can be the least thing and the breakdown comes unexpectedly. It causes me to manage my activities with others or outside the home carefully, for fear of it happening and frightening others. We kept stumbling upon things that almost seemed to have been put there or we were guided to them by my wife which we began to call "coincidences". In time they became too numerous and frequent to call coincidences any longer. I find things for which we made a change or adjustment to help my wife or protect her or guide her. The tears just start. There is so much we did over the course of her disease to try to keep the home functional for us all that I am surprised by just how much. While each new "find" triggers the tears, it also brings me closer to her once again. Often I just sit with the item or situation and stare at it or touch it and think about her.

  • fmb
    fmb Member Posts: 567
    500 Care Reactions 250 Likes 500 Comments 100 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    Oh @SDianeL and @howhale! I can so relate to this! I had a grief meltdown yesterday before I went to the hair salon. It was the first time to have my hair cut since he died. I was thinking that my hair that had brushed his cheek when I'd lean over to give him a kiss was going to end up on the salon floor. I mean, it's only hair, right? But it felt like losing a little more of him. Yes, it's the little things…..

    ((((Hugs)))) to you both.

  • troubledone
    troubledone Member Posts: 58
    25 Care Reactions 10 Comments 5 Likes
    Member

    Thanks for sharing.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more