Reply #24: That's awful! I'm sorry that you both had to go through it

[Lorien]

one of my friends had something similar happen with both her aunt and stepmother. Her aunt got Alzheimer's and did exactly what your mother did-except she often wouldn't throw out food, either. She was worth several million dollars but never spent much of anything-acted as if she were living in poverty. She didn't have a will or any offspring, so when she died her estate went to the state. She had pushed everyone in her life away at that point, even though family did try everything to help.

My friend's stepmother had a brain tumor and became obsessed with shopping. Her personality changed after the tumor was removed and she lost many of her friends (she had become very hostile towards pretty much everyone). When she passed away she left everything to a next door neighbor that she barely spoke to rather then leave anything to her ds who had tried so hard to help her. The house was FILLED with mostly unopened merchandise.

My own mother was a real pack rat when I was growing up, but she has changed in recent years. Now she actually lives a pretty spartan existence. The change came after she spent some time teaching English in rural China. The people there had so little, yet they seemed happier than most of the people she knew in America. Once she returned she sold her home and most of her belongings and moved into a place half the size of the one she had once owned.