Hi everybody,

Decided to post here and hold my breath, and hope that the old craziness doesn't follow.

My 84 year old MIL has had AD for a number of years, and we finally moved home...back to Ga (fromTx) to be nearer in late August. Mom is in the last stage, has a 24/7 caregiver for the last year and a half, and can't stand, walk, or recognize anyone except occasionally, when she grunts a reply.

What I find so hard to accept is that we took her out to Red Lobster in April and she was still able to talk with her brother and walk with her walker. She is failing very quickly, but the last 4 weeks seems stable.

Hospice is on board...They have been wonderful.

No questions at the moment, but I look forward to posting and maybe answering questions when I can.

Thanks to the Admin for setting this site up!

Hi! Great to have you here. Don't worry about the craziness...I somehow don't think that's going to happen here!

I'm glad you have hospice. I know how sad you must feel, I feel the same way when I think too hard about how my mom was even just a few months ago compared to today. It's a rotten thing, this disease.

Hey...glad to see you here! I think we will get quite a nice group going here. Nice to "meet you", so to speak!

Hi Susan- So sorry to hear about your mother's current decline. Welcome to the board, and you don't have to worry there will be no craziness here

Welcome, I'm glad you found us.
I think I can speak for all when I say that we want this board to be one of love and support for each other.
I'm so sorry your mom is declining. It is amazing how quickly the changes can happen. Last year Helen and I took a cruise to Alaska and now she is gone. Sometimes I just shake my head and wonder how this happened.

Hi. I'm another refugee, so to speak, from the other board. After browsing there several months, I finally joined, but I don't feel comfortable posting there.

Last year my 85-year-old mom was diagnosed with dementia (they did not specify the type) after a stroke. I look after her and her little dog in her home.

This is not my family's first experience with Alzheimer's, as my dad died of complications from it 16 years ago. Thus far, my mom's illness has taken a different course from my dad's, perhaps because it may be a different type (or a mix) of dementia or because the meds (she takes Aricept and Namenda) may have slowed it.

Both her long- and short-term memory are significantly impaired, and she has a lot of difficulty with language. She talks a lot (she did before the dementia, too, LOL), but her sentences don't always make sense, even to her. She doesn't always recognize her family, but as I told my husband, at least she likes us, even if she doesn't remember why.

I'm thankful to have found you all, and I hope to get to know you better.

grits/Sarah

Hi! I'm glad to have found you here! I'm Joanie and was caring for my mother fulltime for the past two years. I recently moved her to a Memory Care ALF and have gone back to teaching fulltime. I have an 8 year old son and teach children with autism.

Joanie and Sarah, WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME.
I'm so glad you both decided to join us over here.

Wow.
What a special group of people, both the caregivers and
your loved ones. What varied and beautiful fabric can
be found in each of their stories, our stories. I am
looking forward to getting to know everyone better, too.
I have an 11-year old son and my Dad lives in an ALF
just a mile away. I'm his DPOA and right now I'm
wildly spending his money on him to keep him happy
and "put" (he likes to wander down the local highway
unescorted and I've had to hire private caregivers to
be available to "shadow" him...). It sure is an odd
position to be in, hoping your Daddy's money can
outlast your Daddy, or at least run out at about the
same time. Sometimes I just feel sick.
But, you know, he (his name is Bill) is an absolute
sweetie. The moments we share that are real, as in
when we are talking something real together, are
happening less and less, and are more and more
precious.
Hey, THANK YOU, Mr. Moderator for this site!
See ya, guys!
Carol

I don't think I ever did an intro on the other site, so....

OK, I'm 44, single, no kids. I moved to Michigan about 5-1/2 years ago from Florida to help out around here (I am originally from here) and about 2 years after that I started noticing problems in mom. Things got pretty bad last year and I got her to go to the doctor.

I'm pretty lucky. Mom is pretty compliant, but she is very stubborn when she wants to be. I am also lucky in that I have a brother who is taking care of her finances (which are a mess) and also takes her to some doctor appointments and for overnight visits when she will go.

That's the short story!

Hello everyone! I'm Shirl (TwiceBlessed). I'm glad to see you have found a nice site.

For those that don't know me, I lost my husband to a 14 year battle with AD this past Spring.

I also write a blog where I try to tell of my experiences before and after his death. At the moment I am doing some serious writing. I also am involved with training caregivers, one on one.

Hi everyone,

My name is Terry or flintysooner. I began serving my parents as caregiver in 1998. My mother suffered from Parkinson's dementia among other things and died in 2001. My father suffered from Alzheimer's and died at his home on Sep 21, 2007.

Good to see so many familiar names.

I am soooo glad to see so many familiar names coming here! Peace be with all of you here. Thanks to the administrator for giving us another place to vent.

I know, every time I see a name I know I'm smiling!

Doing the happy dance. What a wonderful group we are getting here!!