Amongst the chaos of the back to school season, following right on the heels of Mitzi’s 40th high school reunion, it has made for a confusing time lately.
One of the most interesting things about Alzheimer’s to me has always been that the person will occasionally revert back in their mind to a time in their life when they have vivid memories. For many people, they were much younger. From listening to Mitzi talk to me for nearly 2 years, being a cheerleader and the Homecoming Queen in high school were very fun times for her since she is so social. After the reunion that she enjoyed immensely, she has become confused on a number of occasions. She will think she is back in high school, yet knows that seems weird because she has a family with grown children. The tricks Alzheimer’s can play on someone’s mind can be so interesting.I have found that explaining the reason for her confusion to her doesn’t work well in this situation. It’s better to go along with it as minimally as possible and then change the subject. I even like to use offering her a piece of gum as a distraction, which works well. So many times, I have seen someone try to use logic and reason to argue a point with someone with this disease and that honestly never works. It creates confusion, unnecessary anger or resentment, and makes the person less willing to continue communicating. Music, a change of scenery, a treat, or just going along with whatever the issue is seems to work soooo much better.
Frankly, when faced with the present scenario of having Alzheimer’s, I really can’t blame Mitzi for wanting to spend some time in her mind reliving the glory days as the Homecoming Queen…????
