Posted on 12/25/2017 7:28:25 PM PST by Morgana
My grandpa declined rapidly after grandma had a stroke and entered the nursing home. Yet he, too, clung to his independence.
He would be watching out the window whenever my mom stopped by and by the time she got in the door, he would have put every set of keys in the house in his pockets-they would be bulging and jingling with each step.
Without her ever getting into a direct confrontation with him, he knew what she was after. It was kind of funny, but thankfully no one ever got hurt. Dementia is so sad. He ended up in the same nursing home with grandma. She was paralyzed and lost her ability to speak, and he spent each day visiting her room until she passed away.
Yes, you’re right about losing a sense of thirst as you age. I first read that in a Jeff Galloway book about older runners. I’m still running races at 71 and have to remind myself to drink water before and after a race, because I don’t feel thirsty.
He went to the strip club.
"My family? Hell with 'em! It's cold outside! I'm 97 and have dementia! They can't come pick me up? I'm gonna go look at some titties!"
Last June, my 91 yo dad got lost coming home from a quick trip to a local orchard for baked goods. He ended up on the other side of the state. We received a call from a wonderful deputy at 6 am the following day who told us he was safe, and by the way he said, had immensely enjoyed his conversation with him, no doubt about his war stories, especially the one where he was hiding in a barn loft while 4 Germans searched the barn. “They never looked up!” After my brother told him he had been the lead story on the news as they were walking out of the sheriff’s office, he stopped and said “I better lay low until this thing blows over”. He said he must have taken a wrong turn. Needless to say, we took his keys and he hasn’t driven since. He really doesn’t have dementia, he just doesn’t like to ask for directions, lol. He celebrates his 92nd birthday this Thursday, Dec. 28.
maybe, just maybe, this is nature's way of letting one quietly slide out of life.
A couple of years back I was driving to work. The weather that morning had been a bit icy so I was going in a bit late.
I was going through Mt. Joy, PA and through an intersection with a 2-way stop, I had no stop sign and the right of way but the car coming through intersection from the side street had the stop sign. The car slowed down but then suddenly barreled through the intersection right in front of me. I hit the brakes hard, and fortunately wasn’t going very fast but with the wet and icy road, I t-boned the other car.
It was an elderly couple and the wife was driving. My first concern was that they were OK.
The man got out of the car and surveyed the damage and kept apologizing over and over again as we traded insurance info. I reassured him that they call it an “accident” rather than an “on-purpose” for a reason.
Then the wife got out and she seemed very confused and disoriented and I was worried about her. She didn’t even seem to understand there had been an accident and all she kept saying is “I’ve got to get home because I’ve got to go to the bathroom”. I’m guessing perhaps that’s why she decided to go through the stop sign?
There was a church across the street with a school and I suggested to her husband that perhaps they had a bathroom she could use.
He just shook his head and said, “No, the problem is that she just should not be driving anymore, I can’t drive anymore either because my eyesight, and other things…..” It was sad. I reported the accident to my insurance company but didn’t mention the conversation.
It’s sometime a hard choice when it comes to our elderly parent and relatives. We want and should allow them to be as independent as they can be for as long as they can be. But on the other side of the coin is when they become a danger to themselves and others.
“Thank goodness he was found safe and sound. Maybe he was the designated driver for the 100 year olds. :)”
Thank you for the update. Just woke up and got on here. Did not know
That’s why I used the word “often”.
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