My Mother has Alzheimer’s and she’s Disappearing One Memory at a Time
A Snapshot into the Life of an Adult Dealing with a Parent or Loved-One Who Suffers with Alzheimer’s
(I have been preparing for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and I remembered I wrote this about 5 years ago, so I re-read and pinned it.)
“What time is Tricia coming in?” My mother asked. Tricia is my sister, and she was returning home from a trip overseas. I answered, “Mom, her flight gets in about 10:30 tonight.” My dad whispered, “She’s asked me that about 4 times already.” He continued, “I took your advice, and every time she asked, I answered like it was the first time.” (I had spoken to my father about responding to Mom’s questions a few times during this one-week visit to my parents, and I was happy that he took my words to heart.) Within the next few hours, my mother asked me some variation of that same question at least 5 more times. When she initially asked, it was about 3:30 pm, and the last time she asked was about 6:30 pm. My response at 6:30 pm, was no different in substance from my earlier responses, but it seemed to stick.
“Dave, what time does Tricia’s plane land?” Mom asked. It was about 3:50 pm, and about 20 minutes after she asked me the first time. I answered nonchalantly, “About 10:30 pm.” Even…
