“Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible: not to have run away.” Dag Hammarskjold
In AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) they say that alcoholism is a baffling disease. So is dementia. Day to day and moment to moment can be so different. Last night he was unable to remember how to use the remote for the tv, and today it was he who figured out that the odd noise in one of our vehicles might be caused by low oil. Amazing!!! It is no wonder that we as caregivers might vacillate among the choices for support and settings. One day there is good functioning, and the next day or moment there is not. One moment he reasons very well, and another one he uses such poor judgment that he endangers himself. It must be confusing for the person with dementia, as it is for those of us who are caregivers. So, what do we do? Perhaps as Dag Hammarskjold said, we are called to just not run away, but to grapple instead with the baffling inconsistencies of living with dementia.
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