Looking back, knowing what you know now about Dementia and your LO, if you could go back in time and eagle eye watch for the tiniest sign that cognitive function was beginning to decline, what incident or event would you pick up on as that tiniest sign?
For us, I think it would be her absolute inability to stop herself from bringing a painful subject (and her ridiculous opinions about it) into EVERY conversation. Not just some or most. Every conversation, no matter the topic. Despite being asked not to, despite it being demanded that she not, despite people getting to the point of refusing to speak to her at all because of it. Every conversation, without fail. That started probably 20 or so years ago.
I can think of some others as well, but this one is the most prominent.
An inability to hear well on the phone, and hanging up on us when we called thinking we were no longer talking. Addressing an envelope wrong. For instance all right, but the city and state. Increased anxiety when out shopping. Increased worrying over bills, files, keeping things straight. Less social.
He was in a car accident and this is how he got diagnosed. Laying in the arms of a neighbor kept repeating "I knew something was wrong; I knew somethings was wrong."
Becoming less social, even with her family, was also early sign, but it came much later than the conversations that couldn't happen without that one topic being brought up.
After she passed I was going through her stuff she had stuff going back to 2013 about memory loss, what to can be done and stuff.
I do wonder what caught her eye first l.
I then knew something was very wrong
It starts very slowly and spotty. By time we see more regular and unmistakeable behaviors, our LO is already in moderate dementia.