One of our bigger stumbling blocks in caring for my mother was her diet. There was not only her forgetting when she last ate, but also her forgetting how much she had eaten -- there were days, for instance, where she would have breakfast with us, then tell the people at Adult Day Care that she "was starving" because "they don't feed me." Certain foods she had always enjoyed -- chicken, for example -- suddenly became abhorrent to her. The day she announced she no longer enjoyed pasta, one of her most beloved mainstay dishes, I nearly cried.
Conversely, as her dementia progressed, her appetite waned. Nothing appealed to her anymore except for sweets, particularly ice cream.
Both my maternal grandparents were chefs. My mother, although never a chef, was what I'd call an expert home cook. I remember her tackling complicated dishes with a finesse that even surprised her. She would spend Sunday afternoons laboring over a multiple-course meal, refusing any help, for my sole benefit.
Cooking was one of the very first executive functions she lost. It still fascinated her, though. As her dementia progressed, one of the first projects we staged where she could actually contribute and feel useful was preparing simple dishes.
CareGiving Kos is a community diary series posted generally on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening by volunteer diarists. This group & series is for those who are now (or have been) in the role of being a care-giver for a loved one. We want this space to be supportive and free of squabbles. Our only rule is to be kind to yourself and others who are going through a very difficult time. Please respect the concept of this group: No Politics Here.1
1By "no politics" we don't mean "avoid politics completely" - it's too relevant, at times, to portions of the topics discussed. But keep any references to politics focused and within the context of the caregiving topic. Avoid flames, flaming, flame-wars and dragging the discussion off-topic. Thank you.
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