My mom is my most precious friend on this earth next to my husband. She has been a very big support in my life. I can call her when I am sad or when I am happy. I share so much with her. She gives me comfort in sad times and laughter in fun times. We do so much together and enjoy each other's company. She is so fun and easy to talk with. She is my best friend.
It seems over the past year I have noticed changes in my mom. I notice that she misplaces things and can't find them again. I notice that she repeats herself or tells me the same thing maybe 3 or 4 times in the same hour. I notice that last year, she remembered me for my birthday but can not remember what day or month I was born today. I see the person that she was fading from me and my heart is broken. I decided to take my mom to the doctor. He did some blood work and a mind test with simple questions. My heart sank when the doctor asked her what the current year was and she replied "1990 something". He asked her what floor she was on and she said "I think we are on a second floor". The clinic is a one floor facility! He gave her 3 words to remember and to repeat back to him within a few minutes. When it came time, she couldn't do it. He gave her a hint and she was able to give him 1 of the words back. She was surprised to find out there were 2 more words. He graded her on a scale of 1-30. 1-15 being severe, 16-20 being moderate and 21 - 30 being mild. She rated at 21 on the border of mild to moderate for memory. I haven't received the results of the bloodwork yet. This is to rule out diabetes, b12 deficiency, anemia, and a few other things. If the bloodwork comes out to have an issue, the doctor says it may reverse some of the memory issues with treatment. If all is ok with the bloodwork, we will need to do a cat scan to see if maybe a mini stroke or series of ministrokes have occured without notice. He said that further testing can be very costly easily reaching near $10,000. I don't know how to manage. I have to take her for a followup for results and figure out a plan if further testing is needed. I am not sure how much it will cost. My parents do not have insurance and this last visit was quite expensive. I have to call to see what the follow up will cost. One step at a time!!! My mom takes care of Chase now and I have seen some improvement with her alertness. Her common sense and responsibility skills are in tact it is just the memory of things past or misplacing things are affected. I find that I cry more easily and constantly worry about her. I continue to pray for her and place her in God's hands. She is so dear to me and I am not ready to lose her mentally if it can be prevented. I LOVE YOU MOM!
