Since I last posted my dad had to spend a few more nights in the hospital. That was a mess. Being as I am just feeling tired and kind of down right now, that will be a post for another day.
My dad continues to have more health problems. He is weaker all of the time. Of course, the dementia continues to get worse.
He has started to routinely be difficult and argumentative with nurses. He tends to be not very nice. He takes so much of his anger and frustration out on his wife.
I know he is confused by what is happening to him. It’s all so frustrating.
What can you do? Not very much. I could explain it all to him. I have done that. . . again . . . and again. But it doesn’t stick with him for very long.
Yes, frustrating. He can talk about some things that happened long ago very clearly. Yet some current things just get all jumbled up or completely slips away. Some times he says he doesn’t remember something, yet I can tell he does; he just can’t understand why he said or did something or he realizes it’s all mixed up in his head. Sometimes it’s obvious he has no clue what you are talking about because he truly has forgotten.
The other day I once again had the same old conversation with my step-mother. She was telling me that a nurse at the nursing home said it seems like the dementia is getting worse. She said she thinks it is, too. She started wondering if she should talk to the doctor about what can be done (to make it better).
Once again, I heard myself explaining:
The doctor can’t magically fix or cure dementia. Dementia is not going to get better. Sadly, dementia just gets worse.