Jack is still good-natured for the most part; he just wants out of that assisted living facility so much that he's shouting at Oldest Brother.

And he has a lot of functional memory -- his current problem is that he can't retain new information. But a couple of weeks ago he went to Mass at his assisted living facility, and the priest was a man who had been the priest at Jack's regular parish years and years ago. And Jack remembered him perfectly and they chatted about stuff from back in the day, but if you asked him why he was at the assisted living facility, he would genuinely not remember that he has a suprapubic catheter (which he can't care for). He's surprised by it every single time he goes to the bathroom, and it is an actual tube that sticks out of his abdomen. You'd think that would be something a person could remember due to its constant presence, but that's what his dementia is doing.

Poor Oldest Brother. I'm glad he's protecting himself as much as he can by sending those calls to voicemail.

Sigh. Dementia is a bitch indeed. My mother's day call was mother saying "I can't hear you." and me yelling at her to get a hearing aid. (She thinks there's nothing wrong with her.) Frustrating.

Heh, I just checked my medical online MyChart thing, which has previous test results, and my last round of bloodwork was September...of 2014. Ooops. My blood probably *is* 90% cheese at this point.

Did I mention that the pre-op people said my EKG was perfect? I'm clinging to the stuff on me that's not falling apart. Blood pressure, always great. Despite appearances, not actually diabetic. EKG, perfect! Other discs, aside from the troublemaker, looking good!

Teppy, I'm sorry things are so difficult with Tim's dad. Echoing what others have said about the awfulness of dementia. My step grandmother had it, and it was awful. She kept looking for her twin babies, who she kept forgetting were grown men, and she'd get violently angry when she couldn't find them.

Go, Smonster!

I have another uti with lots of pain. I have an antibiotic now and an appointment on Friday with a new urologist because my old one left.y anxiety is once again spiking along with the pain, which just makes everything harder.

Dana, you've got a lot of good health!

My mom's mom had Alzheimer's for over a decade. It sucked. My grandma's mom had it too, most likely, before they had a name for it. My sibs and I are definitely on the lookout for signs in my mom. Thankfully my mom is a huge reader and gets some exercise; she's also very worried, so she's actively trying to keep her brain healthy.

sj, hope you feel better soon.

Yeah, there's a real grieving process here for Tim and his brothers, because Jack is slowly losing what made him the dad they knew and loved and looked up to for more than 50 years. It's a really cruel disease.

Oh I'm so sorry! Please tell Tim and his brothers they are really in my thoughts. This is exactly what I lived through my my mother.

Every one in pain, I hope it eases soon.

Dementia is cruel.

I'm tired. Overnight staff's mother passed away in the night, so I went in at four thirty in the morning to let her go take care of things. The mother was just brought home from the hospital for hospice care last week... it's always sudden.

Andi - my favorite project manager's father just passed - similar, just moved to hospice care and then gone. He has been unwell for some time as we have had multiple conversations about him, but still, sudden. Much ~ma to everyone.

My mom was just tipping into the early phases of dementia when she passed. This woman used to run the renal care program for Kaiser Northern California, coordinating dialysis and transplant care. Then experienced kidney failure for herself and went through two transplants. After Kaiser, she was the director for a few adult day care centers, specializing in adults with dementia. It seems wrong to say I'm glad she died before the dementia really set in, but if it had to happen, I'm glad she missed dementia.