My oldest dearest friend has dementia

My friend since 1980, the person who has stood by me through thick and thin, who has always been there for me, even when I was living far away…had a fall resulting in a brain bleed in October 2025. I had been visiting her one afternoon a week before this happened and even then, I thought there was a slight amount of cognitive decline, somewhat normal for an 83 year old.

The fall exacerbated the decline and although she has come back somewhat, she is no longer the same person she was before. She has a wonderful, caring and understanding family, so that is not an issue. She is still living in her own home.

The issue is, she is not driving and her family members work, so I have nominated myself as activity director. I was activity director of an Memory Care Unit for a short period years ago. I now visit her for 3 or 4 hours, two afternoons a week. Sometimes we go shopping, or out to lunch, or watch a movie, go for a walk, sit and talk, play Rummy Cube (which she wins more than not!) I try to redirect when she gets fixated on something, and patiently answer the questions she repeats multiple times.

The QUESTION is how do I deal with the fatigue that I feel after these visits? The sadness? How do I process the loss? The heartache?

Any wisdom or experience you can share will be appreciated.