Hi all! My mom has been through quite a bit over the past few weeks. Long story short after a significant fall, she ended up back in the hospital after a few days of lethargy and diarrhea. She had been previously diagnosed with a mild cognitive impairment a few years ago. But after being in the hospital for what ended up being pneumonia, the Dr. diagnosed her with dementia. What’s the connection? I’m not sure how advanced the dementia is or what to expect from here. I live out of state from where my parent live and am curious how this diagnosis is reached. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!!!
And while he's at it, your father might want to get hold of some Health Proxy forms and fill them in for himself, just in case.
This is all assuming that there is no formal declaration of incompetence. If your mother is incompetent then technically she can't do this (though she might get away with it). In that case, perhaps the best thing to do is give your father a list of questions to ask.
*(- son? Sorry, forgot to ask! )
And, many people with MCI eventually progress into a Dementia. It's awfully hard to manage this stuff at long distance. If you can get her a neurological exam or some neuropsychological testing, you can get a definitive answer about her mental condition. But since there isn't much that can be done about it ... unless you need it to justify, for example, using her long-term care insurance for a specific kind of facility, it may not be worth it.
Definitely do the bloodwork. Things as simple as vitamin deficiencies or other blood chemistry can show up as dementia, and be cured within weeks. But if her bloodwork is normal there may not be much that can be changed.
Your dad may need some support, as mentioned by someone else. If she can't stay hydrated, she can end up back in the hospital.
For instance, my ferritin level (basically stored iron) is only 36. BUT the lab range says 30 - 400 is "normal". But it is NOT optimal.
So maybe your mom has something wonky in her blood work that is showing a deficiency that could be improved through diet and/or supplementation.
It's probably more complicated than this, but just a thought. It's hard to find the answers but I like to at least try to keep digging to find out if there's something simple to do to help improve things.
If not that, perhaps they could email or fax you the info.
If the diagnosis was only done via a visual assessment, it may not be 100% accurate. As others stated, maybe when she's home in her surroundings and more recovered from her acute health problems, her dementia type behavior will improve.
Do you think you can get your dad to become a stronger caregiver? Like will he make sure your mom has plenty of water, good food, maybe some exercise to keep her mobile and regain her strength, etc.? If it's too much for him, then it's time to bring in some part-time help who could help with these kinds of things.
When my mom had the flu and a fever, she was completely out of her mind. Thankfully, when she recovered, she went back to normal.
As others mentioned too, I agree that the hospital stay itself can be damaging. A friend of mine, her mom went in for knee surgery and when she woke up, her dementia had increased dramatically and she has not recovered over a year later.
Good luck!
My guess, only a guess, is that deteriorating mental health led to self neglect and immobility which led to acute illness which led to the fall which led to hospitalisation which led to an up-to-date assessment. The pneumonia could have got a foothold through her comparative immobility, for example, or from her being unable to shake off a common mild infection.
Basically - it's all interconnected, more than cause and effect as such. Are there any boots on the ground you can consult about what's been going on?
Poor mother! Have you been able to visit her? Are you happy with her medical team's communication with you?
I will be going to visit in March. As of right now, she can walk and is scheduled to go home tomorrow and have been told by the staff at the facility that she's doing much better.