Oh, Larry, you are so right about this. Mom is now 104 and began showing signs of dementia about 20 years ago. At the end of last May, her hospice nurse and social worker finally convinced me that she needed to be in an adult family home, as her care needs had now surpassed my ability to provide them for her. It broke my heart to come to the realization that she was going to die in a stranger's home rather than mine, but it has turned out to be a good decision for both Mom and me. She is getting excellent care and I can now visit her in the capacity of loving daughter, rather than as an occasionally resentful and chronically stressed caregiver. Although Mom no longer recognizes my husband, nor remembers most of her family, I'm grateful that she still knows me every time I visit, and remembers the love we share.
Oh, Larry, you are so right about this. Mom is now 104 and began showing signs of dementia about 20 years ago. At the end of last May, her hospice nurse and social worker finally convinced me that she needed to be in an adult family home, as her care needs had now surpassed my ability to provide them for her. It broke my heart to come to the realization that she was going to die in a stranger's home rather than mine, but it has turned out to be a good decision for both Mom and me. She is getting excellent care and I can now visit her in the capacity of loving daughter, rather than as an occasionally resentful and chronically stressed caregiver. Although Mom no longer recognizes my husband, nor remembers most of her family, I'm grateful that she still knows me every time I visit, and remembers the love we share.
very powerful and beautifully written.