Saving Jane

“Oh no you never let go, through the calm and through the storm, oh no you never let go, every high and every low…Oh no you never let go of me..”

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines dementia as:
“…[A] word for a group of symptoms caused by disorders that affect the brain. It is not a specific disease. People with dementia may not be able to think well enough to do normal activities, such as getting dressed or eating. They may lose their ability to solve problems or control their emotions. Their personalities may change. They may become agitated or see things that are not there.”

Memory loss is a common symptom of dementia. However, memory loss by itself does not mean you have dementia. People with dementia have serious problems with two or more brain functions, such as memory and language.

Many different diseases can cause dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Drugs are available to treat some of these diseases.

The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is progressive, which means that it worsens over time. It causes areas of the brain to shrink and is fatal. The disease has three stages: mild, moderate and severe. The resulting symptoms start with memory loss and other cognitive deficits, advancing to major personality changes and eventual loss of control over bodily functions.

I call my mom Jane because I think it is so cute, she is a strong woman, definitely a survivor.

In June of 2008 we took my Mom to the doctor, she had been getting more confused, even though she has always been forgetful, all of us are and so we kept saying it was normal…for us at least. She started to get worse, forgetting where she parked the car, running out of gas, leaving things on the stove while they were cooking. I think my sisters and I knew in our hearts it was something more but we just didn’t know how to handle it, so we scheduled a doctor’s appointment, and they referred us to a Neurologist who scheduled tests and told us that Mom definitely had Dementia and the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. I remember walking out of the Doctor’s office feeling like I couldn’t breathe and not wanting to show my fear to Mom, but I wanted to just run...I needed to get her home, so I could cry because I didn’t want to do that in front of her… All I knew for sure was that I was going to lose the Mom I knew and there was nothing I could do to stop it. From there to where we are now has been a long road, there is so much I want to say, but mostly right now it is about not losing Jane.