Understand

[princess45]

I understand what you are going through. I have progressed further. When things like that happened I decided to laugh. I spoke to family and friends and told them I was finding laughter helped me cope. I have progressed further and soon I will have to have someone come in and help me. I finally accepted my illness and have decided to make every day count. In my area there are no support groups for the patient only caregivers. If there is a support group in your area I hope you go it will help.

I do care about you and understand.

[daddyt]

Laughter is a good medicine... I always say "when you can't win, you can at least grin.

[Glenndylee]

I find that laughing helps, too. I can be frustrated (and I often am), but if I can laugh it off, it helps to let go of that feeling. Also, II am so afraid of turning into a crabby person that I work hard at NOT being one now...does that make sense?

I'm sorry you'll need someone to help, but hope that you'll find someone really good and supportive.

[princess45 in reply to Glenndylee]

My biggest fear is being a burden to my family even though they all want to be here for me. They have convinced me I will not be. Then all of us look back at my husband of 51 years in hospice for six weeks before he passed away was not a burden to any of us. All my children have said we will be with you and I do believe them. Laughter going through memories with him was priceless. I have the time to write letters to all my family which my husband did not. There is something good about my condition because I can with my granddaughter record a video or maybe even two. My frustration is gone and I focus on what I can do. Love from my family and friends is priceless.

[Poppygail Ambassador in reply to Glenndylee]

I'm with you guys. My biggest fear, at least so far, is what all this will do to my family and what kind of crabby, hateful person will I become. As Glenndylee said, I am trying extremely hard now not to ever turn into that person. I just hope we can maintain that control.

[princess45 in reply to Poppygail]

I watched my aunt and brother struggle with Alzheimer's. By the time they reached a stage with personality changes everyone understood. Plus neither knew how they were acting or what they were saying. I do not know if this will happen to me but I do know how much my family loves me. If that happens to you your family and friends will understand and love you. Alzheimer's will never changed the person they knew and loved all those years.

[Poppygail Ambassador in reply to princess45]

Thank you Princess45, you are correct, the dementia changes will never change the person they remember. Both my parents said some terrible things to me before they passed but I realized it was the DLB talking, not them. Yet it still stung at the time. It does not deminish my memories or feelings for them. Still if I can help it, which most likely I will have no control over, I do not want to put my family through that... just one of my worst fears.

Randy

[princess45]

That also is one of my fears. My children say I will never be a burden. I must believe this because they went through Hospice with my husband. My worst fear is a nursing home.