After Diagnosis next steps

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First Diagnosed

I cleaned out her home, as being a child of the depression, she was a huge hoarder. Took me 18 months every weekend cleaning out everything. So her home was far easier to navigate and far safer for her. Best part of dementia when they are hoarders they can’t remember what’s gone!!! Heaven! She used to carry on and scream when I started and her friends would take her out for the day so I could clean out her stuff. I took 120 bags of her clothes to Vinnies. She would return home and ask “what have you been doing today?” I replied " nothing much!" when I had taken 3 car loads to Vinnies and filled all the rubbish bins to capacity and had boxes ready to put out in my neighbours bins on our weekly rubbish bins collection.

I converted her bath with an overhead shower to a walk in shower. As she declined purchased a shower chair for her to sit under the shower whilst I washed her.

Will ring you endlessly, as they cannot remember, drives you crazy, you learn the hard way to have endless patience.

When she was first diagnosed her favourite perfume is Chanel no 5 and she used 3/4 of the bottle in a month. I realised she was putting on perfume every time she went to the toilet. So hid the perfume. I now buy her Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker reasonable perfume doesn’t matter how much she uses.

She would tell me the same stories over and over again. She can’t remember she told me the story, so I learnt to listen to the same story. I never said to her, I’ve heard this before, or you’ve already told me this story. We all learn patience the hard way.

They are obsessed with tissues. Never bought so many boxes of tissues. Tissues in every pocket, every sleeve, every handbag, drives me crazy. Under her pillows. When I do her washing have to check everything if I miss one then tissues are thru all her clothes.

They are obsessed with locking all the doors with keys Mum had 3 locks and I took away 2 keys as it was driving me crazy unlocking all the locks 10 times or more a day

She was obsessed with keys would take my keys and put them in her pocket and lock me out, drove me crazy. She would lose her keys and I had to go looking for them through all her clothes, handbags, hide them in drawers, drove me crazy.

They forget the kettle, the toast in the grill, so the smoke detectors would go off regularly, had to buy an electric kettle and sealed the grill so she could no longer use it and had to use the toaster.

Will put things in stupid places, crockery in the fridge and freezer, food and underwear in their handbags. Ice-cream in the fridge, milk in the cupboards.