How difficult it has been to watch my mom become less of the person I once knew. Her body is here, but her mind is fading quickly. Who we were together, she has forgotten and those two people are lost.
I’m focusing on the best of memories and all the love she has provided the family over the years. Doing nothing for her is the kindest thing I can do for her. Death hurts us still living. Heaven is the greatest reward for those going through this. I’m praying this will be enough to carry us the rest of the way.
Bless you. I know exactly what you are going through. This is the very worst part of growing older. I lost both of my parents in a similar fashion. I am old, and both parents passed on many years ago but I still miss them so badly even to this day.
My dad died of Alzheimer's disease in 1979. his mind went away slowly as he became less and less of the person he was every day. My mom suffered an aneurism that had almost the same effect on her. She did not know any of us and was never again the person she was before. She suffered another bad stroke that left her in a coma. The doctors at UK said it was very bad and there was no chance in their estimation that she could recover from it. The hardest thing I have ever done is when I stood by her bed and held her hand and told them to unplug the machines that were keeping her alive.
To me, they were the greatest parents anyone could possibly ask for. I won't go in to a lot of details but I will say this - I don't remember a single time when either of them screamed or yelled at me. As for my daddy, I don't remember him ever saying a single curse word in front of me, even when I was grown. And I don't remember him ever speaking badly of anyone in my entire life. The man was a saint, in my book.
My father passed in 1979 and my mother in 1996 and I STILL miss them both even today, and I am 74 years old.
It's the way life is. Death happens. All you can do is keep their memories alive by passing them on to your children and grandchildren. They are a part of you and them.