For Dad-Things go Better with Coca-Cola

A few weeks back, the assisted living site had an Easter Brunch. While preparing my parents' meals and getting drinks, I picked up a Coca-Cola can. Dad began giving it a good looking over-so I asked if he'd like some. I filled up about half his glass with the bubbly stuff and he drank it with enthusiasm. He seemed really satisfied and asked for more whenever his glass became empty. Seems in the AL, the wait staff is more prone to serving coffee than carbonated drinks.
The very next day, I had a call that Dad had to go to the emergency room at a nearby hospital. He had been somewhat sedated to tolerate the ride, but when he woke, I asked if he'd want something to drink.
Without hesitation, he responded, "Do you have any of those little Cokes?"  This from a man whose dementia often befuddles him, easily remembered that taste- guess what's now on the shopping list!

DSM III and Dementia

In  graduate school, one of my classes was in Adult Psychopathology. Part of the class was on major psychiatric disorders, but it also included information on dementia. While I had read the descriptions, never would I have imagined having both my parents go down the path of dementia. My Dad had a stroke in 1999 and began having the mini-strokes (TIA's) almost immediately- each seeming to steal more and more away from his otherwise great functioning level. My Mom became his navigator and he relied on her for years.
I knew we were heading for trouble when Mom would repeat stories to me when we talked-I think she was around 60 at the time. The year she couldn't remember how to set the table at Thanksgiving, I knew the dementia state had landed and it could only get worse.
While they were unwilling to consider moving, it needed to happen. We waited for a crisis...