My Mom's health has been a steady decline the last 4 months, especially physically. She is not able to stand or walk on her own now. But, she is speaking, smiling, feeding herself a little. She seems to know all that we are talking about. Her appetite seems to have improved a little. She has three meals a day and drinking juices and protein drinks.
Has anyone else experienced this? What can we expect to happen next? We are hopeful that she has stopped the decline, maybe at a plateau now for awhile. Things have changed so quickly for her, we are hoping the changes slow down a bit. Or will her decline continue? Her dr tells us it will not be a prolonged illness, but we don't really know what that means.
It is such an awful disease.
My mom is right where your mom is. Yes, they can forget their question and your answer as soon as it has been spoken. On Mother's Day I must have answered the questions of how old she is (93) and where do I live (about 20 minutes up the road) about 15 times each. She had just asked me and then asked me again within a 45 second span. It's super difficult to watch (and answer). The "lost" look in her eyes and her telling me that she feels like her brain isn't there anymore, like it's empty space in her head, that she can't think (of anything) and that she can't understand much, is simply heartbreaking. She knows she's declining and wants to die. After explaining why she needs to wait for God's timing, she "zones out" because she can't fathom the concept.
We called her sisters and brothers last week and she had no recollection of the conversations and no recollection of her 2 youngest siblings! She forgot my husband's and my name but recognized our faces. So far, she's eating well feeding herself, uses the bathroom alone but has to have help in the shower and dressing. She sleeps well but is listless, not having the brain function to understand TV or read anymore. I feel so darn bad for her. She was a very well read woman, involved in politics and worked all her life. Now, to this! She knows it's robbing her dignity and I wish that God would be merciful and spare her the completely degrading and humiliating experience of end stage Alzheimer's. She takes no medication that would keep her artificially alive. Her body just doesn't know to quit. Hopefully a cure will be discovered soon.
Here's the Functional Assessment Staging of Alzheimer’s Disease. (FAST)©
STAGE/SKILL LEVEL
Stage 1. No difficulties, either subjectively or objectively.
Stage 2. Complains of forgetting location of objects. Subjective word finding difficulties.
Stage 3. Decreased job function evident to co-workers;
difficulty in traveling to new locations. Decreased organizational capacity.*
Stage 4. Decreased ability to perform complex tasks (e.g., planning dinner for guests), handling personal finances (forgetting to pay bills), difficulty marketing, etc.
Stage 5. Requires assistance in choosing proper clothing to wear for day, season, occasion.
Stage 6a. Difficulty putting clothing on properly without assistance.
b. Unable to bathe properly; e.g., difficulty adjusting bath water temperature) occasionally or more frequently over the past weeks.*
c. Inability to handle mechanics of toileting (e.g., forgets to flush the toilet, does not wipe properly or properly dispose of toilet tissue) occasionally or more frequently over the past weeks.*
d. Urinary incontinence, occasional or more frequent.
e. Fecal Incontinence, (occasional or more frequently over the past week).
Stage 7a. Ability to speak limited to approximately a half dozen different words or fewer, in the course of an average day or in the course of an intensive interview.
b. Speech ability limited to the use of a single intelligible word in an average day or in the course of an interview (the person may repeat the word over and over.
c. Ambulatory ability lost (cannot walk without personal assistance).
d. Ability to sit up without assistance lost (e.g., the individual will fall over if there are no lateral rests [arms] on the chair).
e. Loss of the ability to smile.
I am one of 5 children, all of who are involved as care takers along with my Dad and a CNA we have hired. We are so very lucky that we all can be involved. In a different sort of way it has given us time individually with our Mom, special tender moments if you will. It also gives us time with our Dad (taking in dinner, chats, etc.). So we feel blessed that she is able to join in conversations, tap her toes to music, enjoy pictures with us.
We want to keep her home as long as possible and plan to get involved with hospice. So far things are going along ok with all of our help. Her dr has said he will refer us to hospice when we feel it is time.
Right now she seems to be holding her own. She was able to take a few steps with support yesterday and today. She continues to eat and drink. So for now, one day at a time.
I admire all the care givers out there who are going it alone, not sure how you do it! Thank you again for your kind words and help! xoxox
My prayerful support is with you.
However short or long, it is difficult and heartbreaking for the caregiver. As someone also said, God knows the right time to take the person home. I pray that God blesses each caregiver as they go through the stressful times. And I know God has answered my prayer because there is no way i could have endured the struggles and pain without His help.
Whether a person has Alzheimers or not, life is precious and must come to an end someday. It is good to communicate with other caregivers on sites like this because encouragement is hard to find from those unwilling to help.
I would ask to talk to her doctor about this.
Stage 1 – Mild/Early (lasts 2-4 yrs) – Frequent recent memory loss, particularly of recent conversations and events. ...
Stage 2 – Moderate/Middle (lasts 2-10 yrs) – Can no longer cover up problems. ... Stage 3 – Severe/Late (lasts 1-3+ yrs) – Confused about past and present.