Posted 3/27/20 as we finally enter the weekend!!!
Can you smell that? No…not the digital cornbread in the oven. I meant the weekend??? It smells as sweet bacon in the morning! Woot woot! But first, we slob our way through today. 🙂
Behold……my last regularly-scheduled piece using Shawshank Redemption Re:Dementia quotes on our little topic. It is interesting how many of the quotes from this excellent movie fit right in (with minimal shoehorning). I have enjoyed this series, but have more than a dozen topics in mind moving forward.
Our quote of the day?:
“Every Man Has His Breaking Point”
https://screenrant.com/best-quotes-from-the-shawshank-redemption/
This happened just before Andy Escaped…
Breaking points are a real topic in our world. Two examples:
Breaking Point 1: Just before the onset of the illness, many, many can point at a major life event that happened about the same time. Here is a list of some triggering events. While these make for a good starter list of triggering events, anesthesia and/or a surgery seems to be a very common, if disputed, trigger for dementia. Here are a couple of articles about the subject: Link Link Link Link Remember, though, that delirium is one of the conditions that can mimic dementia and is an often temporary situation. However, it seems like there are many actual cases of dementia that seem to initiate from an unrelated medical procedure. The big question, to me, is whether the procedure CAUSED the condition, made the condition worse (thrust a borderline condition over the breaking point), highlighted what was already there, or perhaps any of these options. The jury is still out on the topic, but disputing a correlation ignores countless stories to the contrary.
Breaking Point 2: Caregivers. Many, if not most, caregivers experience hitting a breaking point at one time (or many times) when serving a loved one who has this condition. The better the support structure and/or care team, the longer they can hold off the inevitable…but the inevitable is likely coming. I have written dozens of times about the importance of not going this alone. Here are just 2 articles of many: Link Link . Know your limitations and get help. There may be a point that, despite your very best intention (and your promises to the contrary) you may not be able to do it any longer. If so, skilled nursing homes may be necessary. Don’t feel bad. Do the very best you can, then make the move. For your sake and for your loved one’safety. We all have our breaking point. Find it and take a deep breath…and stop. BUT, once you do, keep visiting early and often! These are hard subjects. No cookie cutter answers here. We do our best, then we change and keep doing our best. 🙂 We all know our breaking points…
#EndALZ
Update: I had a nice visit with mom on Facetime today. 🙂 She stayed awake and seemed happy to see me. I patched both siblings on and we all 4 visited and had some fun. It isn’t as amazing as hanging out in person, but works in a pinch until we get this virus past us.
Have a great weekend, all! Be safe, keep social distance, and have some fun. 🙂 We will all be out of this prison soon enough!!!