My mum has dementia
"Since my mum got dementia I feel like everything has changed. Most of it has been really hard but to be honest some things have been positive. I’m probably closer with my Dad now because we talk about what’s going on and we help each other out."
My mum has something called Dementia with Lewy Bodies and it’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. She shakes a lot. The doctor said it’s a little bit like Parkinson’s Disease but different because it affects her mind as well as her body. Sometimes she seems out of touch with reality and is scared that there’s someone else in the house when there’s not. She’s kind of paranoid a lot of the time.
Other times she has really good days and we go shopping. I don’t leave her on her own because she might get lost, but we can still spend some time together trying to have a normal mother and daughter day out. You kind of have to get used to not knowing how things will be from one day to the next. It gets hard because I am worried about her a lot when I’m at school if I know that she’s home on her own. My dad works full time and my older brother is at uni so it means that we can’t be with her all the time. We are going to start getting a lady to come to the house twice a week and take my mum out for coffee and a walk. I’m hoping that will help. She used to be really outgoing so I hope she likes having someone to hang out with during the week.
Since my mum got dementia I feel like everything has changed. Most of it has been really hard but to be honest some things have been positive. I’m probably closer with my Dad now because we talk about what’s going on and we help each other out. I also make more of an effort to spend time with mum and in a way it’s taught me how to appreciate the little things. Nikki.