Newly diagnosed

[Guest guest]

Hello, My mother (age 79) was diagnosed with LBD in April while in the hospital

being treated for depression and eating disorders. First week in the

hospital, (geriatric ward) well-known psychiatrist findings were all normal.

Second week moved to the medical geriatric ward and the decision was made

to remove her infected gallbladder in the hopes her ability to eat again would

return. After the surgery mom became as the doctor described " totally

demented "  suggesting a feeding tube and a nursing home, in his opinion she

was unable to return to her assisted living apartment. The sad truth was we

could see for ourselves he was accurate. The question became, how did this

happen? She walked into the hospital with the help of her walker 2 weeks ago,

what was the cause of this demented state? Thankfully, she started showing small

signs of improvement and we called in the psychiatrist for a second look. His

findings this time caught us all off

guard. Lewy Body Dementia, probably heightened by her gallbladder surgery. Like

so many of you, the Doctor gave me and my brothers a brief description of LBD

and told us to google it. Three months later, I'm still researching answers

to our many questions. I soon discovered mom actually started having symptoms

about 6 years ago, (about the time dad died) first the shuffle walk, then the

stooped position, horrible nightmares, cognition decline was rapid, depression,

seeing things, blank stare and finally not eating. She managed one year at her

assisted living apartment, with several trips to the ER for dehydration, I don't

think she ever really adjusted to her apartment. Her weight was always a healthy

180, she weighed 125 in April. While Mom was still recovering from surgery in

the hospital, we visited local nursing homes in our area (Baton Rouge, LA) and

found what we considered to be the best place for Mom. Her appetite finally

returned about a week after moving to the nursing home. Unfortunately, her

ability to walk never returned, the aides manage to get her up most days in the

wheelchair for a few hours but then it's back to bed. My search continues

in finding maybe the impossible answer, what's next? She's

alert and handles small conversation, battles UTI's regularly, confused

with surroundings like closet, bathroom, clothes, tv, people, etc. She is

actually afraid of becoming like so many of the other patients in the nursing

home that scream out, curse and usually sleep in their wheel chairs. Is

she correct? Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share with you our new

journey towards finding peace and comfort for our mother. Any suggestions,

comments or questions are always welcomed. God Bless You.

Jeni