Dementia
Good afternoon
Two to two and a half years ago, my wife started showing signs of confusion and memory loss. Very mild to begin with.
Shortly after this, the GP made the likely diagnosis of early-onset dementia, which, of course, was a worry.
The problems slowly took their toll with an increase in memory loss and confusion, with a speech impediment. She found it hard to string a sentence together, which made communication difficult
This situation continued until last Sept. when she had two fits and was the start of her life in hospital. After about twelve weeks, she was allowed home when a care package was put in place.
This started with four-hourly visits per day, culminating with 24-hour care, with me being the unpaid carer
The deterioration of my wife's health was so sad after forty years of active life. Thankfully, she was not in any pain as her body slowly gave up and shut down. She couldn't eat or drink properly, and her speech had completely gone. Lastly, she just lay there so peacefully when her heart stopped, and she went.
The grief is unimaginable, and after two months, it seems to be getting worse. I don't have any close family and friends who offer to help, but they are not there when needed, when I wake up in the morning to a lonely house.
Hopefully, in time, this situation will improve, and I will learn to live with my loss; if not, I do not know what I will do.
Hi Neil, I lost my husband just over 4 months ago he had strokes which took away his speech and gradually his ability to swallow anything solid over a period of 11yrs. It is hard to say how long each of us will take to come to terms with everything. I have wobbles but I know Alan would want me to get on with my life I know he will always be with me and we had 43 good years together. Don’t know if you’ve joined the WhatsApp group but there are always people on there who you can talk to you are not on your own