Wednesday, April 11, 2012

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...

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