I'm with my mom now...my grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother and probably further back....on my fathers side, his two sisters, my grandfather, my great grandfather.... This dementia is a destroyer of families. I will not subject my beautiful children to this nightmare if I am so afflicted. I will have a big party then I will go to a state that will let a Dr help me go. Then my family can enjoy their lives with good memories.

My grandfather had dementia. He slowly forgets all of his favorite foods and happy memories. Whenever I visit him he asks "And who are you?" in a joking way but I really don't want that question to become a reality. Dementia sucks. :(

I worked in long term care for years. We had the most amazing Director. She said we were to remember that we were guests in THEIR home and to treat them as we would if they were a family member. Three patients really have stayed in my memories because I was given the honor of being somebody special in the life they lived with dementia. One of my nursing instructors said "Don't pull them kicking and screaming into our world, calmly step into their world." First one-gentlemen who was sure I was his sister. When I was working, he would yell out "Stella, Stella", his sister's name. The way we were staffed, there was always an extra staff person on the floor, so they could take over for me and I would go see what "my brother" wanted.

::raising my hand:: It does suck. From the first memory glitch to the realization my brain cells are in open rebellion, it sucks. Fighting that s**t to the very end. Never work with toxins, people.

My pop. The last day he was alive, it was like a switch flipped. He attacked the nurses and doctors, snarled and tried to bite my dad, and thought my mom was his dead wife.

I grieved over the loss of a close friend with dementia long before she eventually died.

My mother has Alzheimer's and it's pretty tough to watch. She still knows who we are but has lost all autonomy, can't walk, etc. She will ask the same question 5 or 6 times in the span of a couple of minutes. She's "done" but it is a long goodbye. Brutal. Fortunately she has long term care insurance and much of her obscenely expensive facility is paid for. Otherwise it is a muli-millionaire's disease which is a shameful commentary...

When my grandma died she'd already lost her ability to speak, the last word she clearly used was Mama, because she forgot she was an adult and thought her parents had left her with strangers. That must've been so terrifying.

My grandma, who is one of my most favorite, adored , special person is going through this and it is incredibly hard and painful. I love you grandma Faye.

My grandpa had alzheimers', but he stayed happy just by being a trusting and loving guy. He'd hold my hand so warmly, would not recognize details like my name but always said he knows "we are his people and that's what matters". Forget names and memories past and connect in the moment, that's enough. Also he never till the end forgot that he really loved my grandmother, he would only forget that they did not just fall in love just last week. He lived his best memories over and over and only forgot the things that were less important. A good way to go.

Been there / done that. Some years ago my grandmother. RIP Currently my very best friend of many years. Still high functioning but she and I both see her starting to have more trouble remembering things and such. She has Alzheimer's

My cousin is suffering from Alcohol Induced Dementia. It's hard knowing she drank herself into this and that we did nothing to help her. Nothing that worked at any rate.

Dementia isn't just forgetting people and events. It's your body forgetting how to swallow or breathe. You can't eat or drink sometimes because of this.

I've posted this before, but it needs to be here, too. My mom had breast cancer which had spread to her brain. Dementia started setting in, and she was aware of it. She said to me one day that the hardest part of it was to know that she was losing her mind. Saddest words ever.

Three grandparents had it, dad just died from it, and I have early onset.

Met husband in 2009 being matched on 3 online dating sites! I was 46, he 49 and it was like we'd finally found each other after looking for years. I suffer from 3 chronic health issues & now have heart problems.My husband has been amazing & knowing I was sick didn't stop him proposing. 2019 he had a stroke & got diagnosed with vascular dementia.Devastated is an understatement. Sat and held each other & cried for ages, then talked but decided to just continue to live our lives as normal as we can. I get bad days so he looks after me, & he gets bad days so I look after him.He's not too bad yet, just his memory & gotten lost a couple of times but has more 'good' than bad times.It's still tough.We were fortunate the diagnoses meant he had to go on disability, because of the prognosis, but we get to spend every da together, see grandchildren more. Now my mum in England has it, I can't travel but we see her on videochat. Dementia is horrible and doesn't discriminate.Be kind to each other.

Watching the progression daily with my Dad. On the bad days I'm "the girl who visits." On the good days he remembers my name. We've started having more bad days than good. :(

Sort of parallel there needs to be more support for considering seizures a disability, I knew someone that had them but couldn't get federal support because technically they could work for stretches who had to live a nomadic existence as episodes caused accidents or memory loss and she'd burn through the jobs and support in an area then had to move on. A sad, difficult, and sometimes homeless existence. Not a personal plea, I don't have contact with them anymore, but mentioning the problems seizure victims face to congresspeople would be helpful.

My mom has LBD. Louie Bodies Dementia. I hate it. It's gotten to the point where she will ask me a hundred times: your my daughter right? It's awful

is that alfred hitchcock?

Both of my parents had Alzheimer's. I live with some of a friend's family. The grandmother has it. It's terrible.

To not remember your full life and the ones you love; agony!

Life is a total, psycho b***h.

My mother currently has Alzheimer's. Watching her disappear slowly is horrific but even worse is seeing her realise she's made a mistake because of her Alzheimer's. She knows that she's forgetting important things and it is just soul destroying seeing her break her heart every time she realises she's done something wrong.

I am so very, very, very, glad I have never drank alcoholic beverages in my entire life. I saw the results of drinking in my father and uncle as a child. Now I have proof that over indulgence can harm in ways I never thought of.

Yea. My maternal granddad and paternal grandmother, so I’m kinda worried I’ll get up with it too, since it runs in the family

That photo just kills me.

Here I feel the urge to mention the song from Amy McDonald, Left that body long ago... and grabbing my headphones

The most painful part of dementia can be realizing you have dementia.

It is so difficult to watch.

I never looked at it like that. It's even more heartbreaking than a person realizes

Brilliant news thanks

i call it "the long goodbye" because the person you knew and loved leaves before the physcial body leaves. my mom had this and i wish i would have known then what i know now. she apparently was aware that things were happening to her but she hid some of the symptoms. when she finally was diagnosed because it was too obvious to be hidden my dad and i felt very bad because we didn't catch it sooner. and, sadly, hers came with paranoia so it was hard to convince her that we were keeping her safe and treating her the best we could.

Already happened. My Great Grandmother. I can't help but dread the day it happens to my other family and myself.

It's already happened twice.

Dementia and cancer almost everyone has a story about either one. For cancer you become their support for dementia you become their memory. Either way you find ways of letting them know you aren't going away and its ok. My dad had Alzheimer's and we fought. We always fought since I was a toddler. Yet, at the end of our fights I wouldn't leave until I said, " it didn't work with me as a toddler it will not work now. You can't get rid of me that easily." Then as I walked away I would toss out a snarky "I love you daddykins". I don't care how much of their mind they lose touch with. You have to remember they are still there, it still the person you love. They just can't find their way out.

My friends and I are all in our 50s. We joke about which one of us will get dementia first since we all work in the health care industry, and have been friends since our 20s. It will eventually happen though, and it will suck badly.

If yall ever want to get real sad, listen to Everywhere At The End Of Time. It was made with the intention of conveying what dementia feels like.