Simple things we take for granted

I had the pleasure of having my mum overnight with me in Edinburgh last night, and she loved every second of it I'm happy to say.

What it did make me realise was the simple things we take for granted in life. The Alzheimer's has stolen some of my mums freedom and ability to perform simple tasks.

For example - for my mum to be able to stay in Edinburgh last night my dad had to bring her through and then head back to EK on the same night, and i had to do the same to get her back home today.

This is no hassle to us, but it emphasises what the Alzheimer's can take away from a person - their ability to just go anywhere they want, whenever they want as the confusion may mean they could get off at the wrong the stop or just the simple task of buying the right ticket could be a stressful event.

A few times i had maybe walked too far infront and mum had lost sight of me (rushing to make the train on time, as always) and theres a split second of panic on my face and hers aswell.

Mum has been to Edinhurgh so many times, even lived there for a while apparantly, yet today when there was 2 seconds of panic i saw a look of being lost on her face when i saw her, and a look of relief when she saw me.

Alzheimer's steals your independance from the go set it seems and it doesnt get any better.

Im now sitting on the train myself knowing when to get off and know how to get home, i cant imagine that feeling of helplessness and sometimes maybe even scared of not knowing where I am?

Another example is the short term memory - yes I know this is an obvious one when it comes to Alzheimer's - but mum went to bed last night knowing where she was and woke up walking around shouting HELLO at 6:30am. It wasnt untill she saw me and i reminded her of where she was that she relaxed and went back to sleep.

Overall mum had a great time as the phrase 'this is nice' followed by a smile was repeated quite a lot today. All that matters is that she is happy.

#alzheimers