My Best Friend with Severe Alzheimer’s Wanted to Kill Me
I now know that this is a warning sign for advanced Alzheimer’s
She used to be so full of life, smart as a whip, energetic, and a fantastic trainer.
What happened?
Alzheimer’s attacked her brain.
Slowly but surely, the ravishes of genetics and age invaded her mind until she couldn’t remember even the slightest things.
Alzheimer’s is the scum of the psychological well-being of anyone who has either experienced this disease or knows of someone who has.
What is Alzheimer’s?
According to the Alzheimer’s Association,
“Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.”
You should not look at Alzheimer’s as being a normal part of aging. People who are 65 and older can experience this devastating and debilitating disease. It’s estimated that 60%-80% of those who have been diagnosed with dementia have Alzheimer’s.
There are three different stages of this disease.
Medically speaking, an Alzheimer’s patient can progress through three stages – mild, moderate, and severe. Each stage of progression is worse than the previous one.
My best friend was in severe.
I feel that I let my best friend down. I was the breadwinner of our family. My hectic schedule left her “alone,” even though I was sitting beside her. Many days, I would be immersed in getting the work done.
This gave her a lot of time to stare at the TV, not really seeing anything (her eyes were terrible due to diabetes), and she spent the time thinking. The activity only contributed to her feeling alone, unloved, and beyond help.
A large part of my loved one not being included in daily events and not talking with me contributed to feelings of fear – fear that I was going to put her out on the street or fear that “they” were going to take her or me away.
Please – if nothing else, communicate with anyone that has diminished mental capacity. You must talk to each other.
From bad to worse
In the last few months of her being alive, things went from bad to worse. Thoughts that I was her enemy and the devil started to permeate her thoughts. At one point, I had to hide the hammer. She was going to attack me with it.
The last few days of her life, it was like her mind had exploded.
She went out the front door and told me she was not returning! Now, that scared me. I went out after her. But her mind was made up. She went across the street, and she was going to walk right into our neighbor’s house.
I stopped her, but then she started off down the street, hellbent for leather.
My world came crashing down.
Well, I got her back to our house, but she wouldn’t come in. Her mind was made up. I was the devil, and she was leaving. She almost knocked me down. Then she took off walking to a busy street. She was going anywhere but near me.
I called our best friend. As it would take time for him to get to us, I called the police. They went after her and tried to bring her back, but she wouldn’t come. They talked with her for a good while before my friend showed up.
The police sent me back to the house as they and my friend tried to calm my friend down. It seemed like it took hours!
The finale of what felt like a horrible dream
My friend was finally taken to the hospital, where they admitted her. She spent about a week there. I was trying to get her admitted to a hospice, but while in the hospital, she contracted COVID. A few days later, she died of pneumonia from the COVID.
It’s been over a year since the good Lord took my friend to heaven. She is now free of pain. The greatest news is that she accepted Jesus as her savior.
I can’t even begin to tell you the fear and anxiety I went through. Not only is the mind affected for an Alzheimer’s patient, but the whole body and soul are destroyed like a thief in the night (or day). I’m no longer in fear of my life from her wanting to kill me. But the memories of good times will never be erased.