General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Sad and Confused...My friend shot his mother on Mother's Day [View all]Boudica the Lyoness
(2,899 posts)Years ago I worked as a lab tech in a very small hospital. The hospital had a nursing home wing attached to it. It was during my years working in the lab, I was exposed to people suffering from the middle and end stages of dementia. It frightened and depressed me. My heart would break for the patients and their families.
All what you said about your friends mother's behavior I have seen. The nursing home patients had around the clock care and they were a hand full for even the experienced nurses. One poor lady would wander the halls looking terrified and confused. She would sit in her room for hours and just scream. It was horrible. One morning, it was still dark and well below freezing, when I was going in on call and the x-ray tech was running around the parking lot looking for her because she was lost again.
When she died, long after I'd left my job, my husband offered his condolences to her family. (They were a local farming family and well off). They said it was a great relief for them when she finally died.
I don't know how anyone could cope with a dementia sufferer without any help. I feel so sorry for your friend. People should not have to go through this alone.