The Faces Of Alzheimers

This morning started kind of early. Mom woke up about 6 a.m. and there was just no way to get her to go back to bed to stay. I did manage to get her to lay back down, but I could hear her moving about in her room ( I have a baby monitor that I use). After about 20 minutes or so, I was resigned to the fact that sleep for the night was over. I went in her room and...in that approximate 20 minutes... she had managed to put her sweater on, but it was underneath her gown and robe. She had tried to put on her bra by putting her legs through the straps and trying to pull it up. I know that she was trying to dress herself....such a simple thing that she had done for almost her entire life.

She seemed to be in a good mood much of the day....but this afternoon her mood darkened considerably. Suddenly we transform from being someone that she loves and wants to be with to someone that is her enemy. If I only knew what caused her brain to switch so dramatically...and so suddenly....then of course I would do whatever I could to keep it from happening. But...again...of course... there is no secret. There is no sense or order to any of it. Her mind...her reality...is whatever it happens to be at the moment. In the dark moments, I always try to remember that she won't remember the things that she is saying, or the way that she is acting....and that is the blessing of it all.