I'm making progress with my brother's diagnosis

I texted my brother yesterday and told him when his first appointment is. He responded, "Ok." His PCP sent the referral over in April. I'm fairly certain that they scheduled the appointments and notified him, but this was all news to him. He's much worse off than he thinks he is. At the second appointment, the doctor will go over the results with us. I wonder what might happen if she tells us that he shouldn't be living alone anymore, or that he shouldn't be driving anymore? I'm praying that he will take the news better than my late husband did.

Thank you for this info. I already know much more about dementia than I ever wanted to since my poor husband died of early onset Alzheimer's disease in 2020.

I understand what you're saying, but he lives in another state and isn't even diagnosed yet. After we get the results of his testing in August, I'll know more about what needs to be done. At this point, I think he'll actually listen to the doctor.

By the way, I've seen him drive holding up his cell phone for navigation.

I understand your concerns. However, I am not in a position to help him yet. I live 6 hours away. He lives alone and has no family or friends nearby who can drive him places. I have to wait until he undergoes testing before I can start taking steps, depending on what the neuropsychologist says.

It was difficult to get my late hubby to stop driving because he had anosognosia and was uncooperative and argumentative. But the process was made easier by the fact that I was available to drive him wherever he wanted to go. I would really need to convince my brother to move closer to me before I can enforce the no driving rule. It's always hard to take away a man's independence. If you aren't in a position to assist him, it's almost impossible. I'm reluctant to get the law involved at this stage.

Look, I only became aware that he was having this much trouble last November. His wife knew about it for years. Her solution was to divorce him and move to Florida. I stepped up because there isn't anyone else. His step-daughter appealed to me to help, so I am. I'm really doing all that I can do under the circumstances. I am also the legal guardian of my son who has autism.

There aren't any other family members near enough to help. We have one other brother who lives in Europe. His step-daughter lives in Florida and is pregnant with her second child. I have four children who live in the states, but three of them are working and the one has autism. We're not close to our various cousins. I'm pretty much it. If I wasn't around, he would be totally alone and unable to help himself.