A Starting Point
If I had started chronicling my experiences with my family member's dementia in real time, that journal would have started easily a more than a decade ago. But dementia--like many illnesses--is a cruel and insidious beast. It works its way into people slowly, secretly, taking over bit by bit so as to make the suffering last. It's a long-term dilemma, difficult to address and with no cure. But here we are, nearly 14 years into dealing with the matter, and I need to begin documenting what it is I'm dealing with on a daily basis. There are several reasons for doing a blog. I won't pretend that altruistic motives are the chief concern, but certainly we all benefit from seeing our common experiences shared so we see we don't feel so alone in our struggle. That's important because the isolation and whelming nature of being a care-giver is terrifyingly lonely. And if (as is all-too-often the case) you are the solitary care- giver, you truly fee...