By the way, doc, my mother has dementia, but that diagnosis is so broad that it covers any decline in mental ability, including very small declines. For instance, my mother still remembers me and my family quite well, and remembers what clothes I've taken home to wash for her. On the other hand, she can't remember whether she's introduced me to staff, so she does that all the time. She has lost adequate awareness of temperature, so always feels cold and tries to dress in layers, no matter whether it's summer or winter. Occasionally something weird will happen, such as when she points to a family picture and asks who the familiar man is, and I explain that it's my father. Next time I visit, of course she remembers who it is.docellis wrote:My dad is still the most important man in my life. But he is the kind of person you can't buy anything for (he has it if he wants it) and you can't impress him with much. All he wants is time or hand written cards/letters. And I suck at those things. I need to make spending time with him a bigger priority. When he loses his mind (which he will, he has early on set dementia, but is remarkably symptom free) I won't be able to go back in time and "make time".
I think dementia just refers to some kind of decline in mental ability, but it doesn't mean that that person will lose all awareness or memory.
