Dementia is a disease that you read about. You may have first hand knowledge of the disease as you listen to a friend vent about the situation. But until you live the disease day and night with a loved one, it is hard to fully comprehend the impact of this disease on the caregiver!
My ability to visit mom every day has become challenging because of work and my children’s sport’s practices/games. So far, I have been fortunate to visit her at least 3-4 times a week. The visits are progressively becoming more difficult. Mom continues too regress in language and expressing herself. She is living more in her ‘dementia’ world and struggles to enter our world. She recognizes me, but does not really know me. It rips at my soul on days. It is hard to explain my gamete of feelings. Part of it is shock that my once strong and graceful mom is a hunched over shell of the woman she once was. Her long and beautiful legs that once carried her confidently through her many transcontinental adventures are now forcing her to walk in a shuffled, hunched-over gait! Despite the change, there are glimpses of the mom I remember, especially when she smiles. Other times I stare at her while she sleeps. The peace that sleep brings, relaxes mom’s face allowing me to view my beautiful mom.
Physically and mentally, mom is different from the person I knew as my mom. It scares me seeing the destruction of this disease. Every time I forget something, my paranoia is real!’ Am I doomed for the same ending to my life as my mom? I don’t want that! I want to live to a ripe old age, healthy and mentally competent. I desire to acquire wisdom that my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will benefit from. I want to maintain my dignity which includes dressing fashionably, making my children proud and my grandchildren bragging how stylish I am! At the end of my long full life, I want to happily say my prayers, go to bed, fall asleep and wake up in heaven! This would be the perfect final chapter to my life’s story! Unfortunately, I can’t write the final chapter, Only God can! He is the author to the Bible and every single detail in my life. There, He tells me not to worry (Philippians 4:6), to keep my trust in Him (Proverbs3:5) and no matter how scared I become, I cannot let go of my Faith (Deuteronomy 31:6). So how do I answer the question in my title, ‘What is love’? Easily, Love is God! God has orchestrated mom’s life and my journey for a reason that only He currently comprehends. I can’t allow my healthy life to be robbed of horrible worries. My weapon is love. I will show Love to mom until her last breath. My children will watch me give love. In return, I pray they will learn not to be afraid of dementia. This disease is real…so is life!
Lolli 
Hang in there, Lisa. In the Islamic world, I was told that every time you visit a person who is hospitalized, (or institutionalized, I am thinking), a thousand angels pray for you. Don’t you just love that? You are not fighting this battle alone; you have a phalanx of angels, a host of angels, invisible but there to help you 🙂 Your Mom has already earned her reward; all the good she has done every day of her life. I love seeing how well cared for she is, and that she is surrounded by her quilted objects 🙂
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