Dementia – My Dad’s Amazing Story

Dementia deeply affected my family. experiencing it on three separate occasions with my father. On the first occasion, he thought he was at the coast and would wake up and start packing as he wanted to return home, when he was already at home, in his bedroom.

The second occurrence, he was sure that my mom was having an affair in a nonexistent apartment and worried about paying taxes on it. Despite reassurance, he was convinced.

The third and most painful time was a true psychotic break—Capgras Syndrome.  A delusional belief that a friend, family member, etc., has been replaced by a twin impostor.  The experience was extremely surreal and heartbreaking, especially for my mom.

One day, my dad asked my sister, ‘who is that nice woman who takes such good care of me’?  My sister realized what was happening and seeing roses on the table mom ‘became’ Rose.  At one point dad thought Rose wanted to marry him but he didn’t want to divorce mom.   We made many mistakes during the 14 months of trying to help dad to return to reality only to accept it was outside our control.

Fortunately, dad willingly participated in a dementia trial, giving him a renewed sense of purpose.  He and ‘Rose’ would take the train from Corvallis to Portland, where I would meet them. These visits became something we all looked forward to—a bright spot in the midst of a challenging time.

Although the trial ultimately failed, something changed and the psychosis amazingly lifted, and we had our dad back for the final year of his life.  The trial was a double blind study, so we never knew if he was given a placebo or not.  But by the grace of God, my mom did not have to face her biggest fear of dad passing without him knowing she was by his side.

Join us April 16th (see below) as we learn about brain health from Dr. Kevin Duff, Neuropsychologist, Phd,  at OHSU and and dementia trials being conducted.

Contact Downsize with Kimberly & the Mature Moves Real Estate Team 971-227-1302 or email Kimberly@mmret.com