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Dancing Around Dementia

Dementia is something that is in my family history, on both sides. So I suspect that I may have to deal with it. Or rather, I suspect that my husband and children may one day have to deal with me having Alzheimer’s.

This scares me.

The husband and I have danced around this issue. We don’t have full-blown conversations about what will happen when- or if- I develop Alzheimer’s Disease, but we do talk about different aspects of it in mini-doses.

It’s less scary in small chunks.

I’ve told him a thousand times that he had better take my keys away when I become an unsafe driver. I’ll be pissed, I’m sure, but I need him to do it anyway.

And then I had to clarify that no, I didn’t mean TODAY, smart arse.

We’ve talked about how, after a certain point, I’d rather he not let the medical staff do anything drastic to keep me around.

And I’ve told him repeatedly that I don’t want him to be a martyr to Alzheimer’s. Being a caretaker is difficult, and if- or when- it becomes too hard, I don’t want him to feel any guilt about arranging for other care.

But we’ve never sat down and had a lengthy conversation about this. We dance around the topic, because it’s too much to take in all at once.

Slightly Similar Nonsense:

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2012 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Mental, Relational. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • Cynthia Walker-White

    Better to talk it through in small doses than not at all. At least you’re communicating; sometimes, heavy subject matter needs to be dealt with in manageable bits. Love and (((hugs)))