Remember it's not your mum it's the Alzheimers!!!

So no-one tells you about hallucinations when talking about Alzheimer's disease, and this has been more and more apparent with my mum recently.

To paint the picture - I live in Edinburgh and she lives in East Kilbride, so I don't live anywhere near home anymore. Yet I'm always at home apparently.

Something goes missing 'Tasha moved that'. So my mum can spend a lot of time talking to 'Tasha' yet there is no-one there. Now this could be because I phone home everyday, so although she doesn't see me she is still speaking to me. Who knows?

This can seem harmless, but when she starts to get angry at things I do when I'm not there, this Is when it can get hard to deal with. As she is annoyed at me for 'taking her dress away' when in reality she has put it somewhere we can't find. So when I phone home she doesn't want to speak to me and can be really off with me on the phone, yet in the same breath asking when she is seeing me next.

It's even worse when it's in person, yesterday was the worst day since mum has been diagnosed. Again it all comes down to her clothes just now - trying to sort her wardrobe as she got new clothes, but she thinks I'm trying to take her clothes away and starts to get really angry with me. This just backs up the hallucinations she has been having and is even more convinced it's me taking all her clothes.

It must be hard for her as she feels she has lost all independence, so I never take it personally. So yeah, I didn't know hallucinations were any part of alzheimers, so this has been a big change in my Mum that has been a learning curve in the alzheimers process. I'm sure there will be more to come.

It's all good though when after it all she still hugs me and kisses me, so I'm not to bad in here eyes yet...

#alzheiemers #disease #awareness