Interesting event - Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia Message Board

jannar · 02-25-2009, 06:22 PM

My mother called me today concerned that she hadn't provided refreshments for the Ladies Library Society's annual meeting that meets at her long-term care facility. My mother provided refreshments for this event for many years. The unusual thing about this call was the fact that the event took place last October and at the time someone else had taken over the refreshments since my mother was moved into assisted living due to Alzheimers. Here we are four months after the event and she was speaking as if it were today. I haven't experienced this with her yet and I'm wondering if this happens as Alzheimers progresses?

Martha H · 02-25-2009, 06:56 PM

Yes. Time and space shrink and stretch. Asked if she had enjoyed the Thanksgiving dinner at the NH (a day before) Mom said, "I will, when Thanksgiving comes!"

That's why the evaluation questions doctors use to decide if someone has dementia or not involve such things as, "What month is it?" "What time of year?" Mom for example answered within seconds two questions like this: "It is April" (it was February) and "It is fall", not seeing any contradiction there.

She also saw and spoke to people who had died many years before.

We jokingly call it "Planet Alzheimer's" but in reality it is too scary to be funny ....

Love,

Martha

Gabriel · 02-25-2009, 11:18 PM

Yes Jannar, that is very common. I was a little taken back the first time my Dad said he needed to go home because Mom was frying chicken. I looked at Mom, my Mom, and it finally dawned on me that he was talking about HIS Mom. She died 27 year ago. Mom frequently will talk about how long it has been since she was home when in fact it was only a few days or talk about something that was going to happen when it already has.

Time and space and all those abstract thought processes go away rather quickly. This is the same part of the brain that rationalizes numbers. Mom was trying to count the number of blooms on the orchid plant I gave her and lost count at 7. She told me her puzzle had 500 pieces and "I don't know how many that is". I literally slapped my forehead on that one and just said back... Mom, that's a lot.

I hope you assured her that the refreshments were all taken care of and she didn't have to worry

Love, deb

ibake&pray · 02-26-2009, 09:15 AM

Tell her that she did a great job once again just like she always does and she will be fine..BTW what do they serve? We are always interested in good food here! Isn't it interesting that she is concerned that she doesn't forget to do one of her committments.. She must have been a wonderful mom...

fourt9rkim · 02-26-2009, 10:27 AM

My mom would claim that she hadn't eaten in 3 days, yet she had just eaten an hour before. She also said she had to get home to her mom and dad... they were probably worried sick that she had been gone so long. Her dad died in 1952....grandma died in 1984! So the concept of time is lost in their mind.