true grit

Mom will be moving to a new home on the 15th. A husband and wife run it and have experience with hospice and dementia cases and come with glowing recommendations. Getting this set up was quick and fairly painless, unlike the initial decision to get help with Mom and the search for an adult family home. Approaching this task at first was overwhelming, but the more I searched out advice and help the easier it got. Duh! But it's not as obvious as it appears. When a family is taking care of a loved one with dementia, every ounce of physical and emotional energy is spent and doing the research to even find someone to give advice can see daunting. There are so many generous loving people out there working in all kinds of organizations who offer their support and advice.

A funny story that tells a lot about Mom's character: after Dad's heart attack which left him dependent on Mom due to some brain damage, Mom stepped up to the plate and took charge. She was always a strong woman, but knew that she had Dad to fall back on and he was her knight in shining armor, especially in all things scary. Well, they had settled into bed and were fast asleep when Mom heard some shuffling sounds in the front hallway. Our house was small so it didn't take much noise to get one's attention. Normally Dad would have checked it out and being 6' 1" and fearless, we all knew we were safe with Dad around. Of course, things were different so Mom got out of bed and saw a huge man looming in the hallway. Scream? Faint? No, she rose to all 5' 4" of her indignant self and barked, "What the hell are you doing in here? Get out now!". The man quickly stammered, "Sorry, Ma'am. Didn't mean to upset you," and left immediately. Mom went back to bed. I don't think she even called the police. She had some grit, and still does, really.