FORGET ME NOT: MUM WITH DEMENTIA.

7 years ago my mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia after years of erratic behavior and constant migraines that were actually caused by small parts of her brain dying. The last two years her condition has worsen, She must take medication and has forgotten to ask to be taken to the restroom so she needs to wear diapers. She takes a supplement because even though she eats very well, her body is no longer taking the nutrients it need and she has lost pretty much all body fat and muscle. Her brain cannot longer find a connectionwith the words so she says a few words only when she speaks and the other part of the conversation is a stutter.

As hard as it is for us to ask for help we are now asking for it since her dementia is winning the battle not only against her but against us as well,The stress of it all has caused us enough health issues and between debts, her care and normal household expenses we are not longer able to continue, we feel defeated and somewhat angry and dissapointed that as much as we have sacrificed it never seems to be enough .

Watching her going though all of this has been painful and I cannot even imagine how she was feeling as she let us know she knew she was "fading away". There isn´t a day that goes by in which we dont miss her, we miss her embrace, we miss her cooking, her words of encouragement; It is hard not to be recognized by her most of the time but when it happens it is such a happy moment for us.

My dad passed away 4 years ago ,and the help we have gotten has been from our friends, that have become family to us since our blood relatives started to pushed us away as my mums condition got worse.

Me and my sister have jobs and do things on the side for extra cash but this doesn't seem to be enough.Money we raised will be used to help us pay for my Mums care, medication, diapers, physical therapy and, if the time comes, for her funeral expenses.

Our situation is quite desperate, whatever you can give will help tremendously and give us peace of mind that my mum will be taken care of and as a result, we can take care of ourselves for once.

We were told by the doctors she wont be with us much longer so we want tgive her the best quality of life we can until it is time to say goodbye.

We thank you so much, for your help in advance!

Paola and Pamela