Baxter’s World, Visiting a Mother with Dementia on Mother’s Day?

Mother's day may be one of the most deserving holidays of the year. No one can argue just how tough it is being a mother. The nurturing, day to day care, the ultimate responsibility that comes with being someone's mother. The last eleven years, Mother's Day has been bittersweet for me.

My mother was diagnosed with dementia eleven years ago. Watching the disease progress year after year is heartbreaking. I do my best to see my mom as often as I can but it gets harder and harder. I sit across from the woman that raised me and know that she has no idea who I am, even after I tell her. To see someone that was once so strong reduced to pretty much being lost in their own mind is so hard. People sometimes ask why I even go see her even though she doesn't know who I am. I guess my answer would be that I know who she is. Anyway, my point is, if you have a mother with all or most of her mind intact, consider yourself very lucky. -Baxter