Category Archives: Dementiaville

Dementiaville, a Serial of Decline After mom died on Thursday last, I went to the YMCA on College Avenue to swim. We are a family of swimmers, and have been since I can remember. For me, swimming has a calming … Continue reading →

And just like that . . . it is over.

In just one week since she was moved to hospice, Mom has taken a turn for the worse. The hospice nurse reached me yesterday morning and said I should come as soon as possible and I arrived just an hour … Continue reading →

Mom choked on her pancakes last week. The event set off a bad series of turns, and she has ended up in hospice. First, they wondered whether she’d had a mild heart attack, and had choked because of that; then … Continue reading →

Easter, 2014. When words will no longer do, there are hands. When eye contact has ceased, there is expression in touch, rub, and squeeze. This is where mother finds herself this Easter. In her small and silent existence, I imagine … Continue reading →

From Sofa to Recliner It’s a new phase in mother’s life. She has made the transition from sofa to recliner. This is a small thing with large consequences. Ever since she moved to the residence in 2013, the sofa in … Continue reading →

When Mom the colorist/artist still had all her faculties, she was also a handyman and smart businesswoman. She kept the books on Dad’s house-painting business for years, doing the taxes and composing all correspondence. She earned her real estate license … Continue reading →

$450 a day: I miss mom and want to move her to New York. It seems like a week doesn’t pass without some Residence drama – mother fell, mother slapped someone, mother thought the wastebasket was the toilet and sat … Continue reading →

Adult Kryptonite bodysuit: Our concerns about mom’s condition have reached the forefront at the Residence. The director has said they’ve “tried everything” they can to keep her dementia-driven behaviors under control, but she continues to wander by herself into places … Continue reading →

The Abandoned Walker. Mom has begun falling down. There have been six falls since last October, three falls since January alone. On Wednesday’s fall, she cut her lip. We bought her new shoes that we hoped would keep her steady-on-her-feet. … Continue reading →