My Mother has declined precipitously during the past six weeks.  We’ve watched helplessly as her confusion increased, her mobility worsened and her sense of time and place evaporated.  Yet, a routine Doctor’s  appointment and lab work did not reveal any treatable physical changes.
Yet, everyone around her noticed the decline – my sister, the companion, her Health Care Manager (a geriatric care manager from My Health Care Manager) and the nurses at the Assisted Living facility.  We were saddened to see my Mother struggle with this new stage of life and worked together to offer additional support.  We all ASSUMED that this was the natural progression of the dementia.

Our Health Care Manager was puzzled by what my Mother was experiencing.  She had worked with many, many seniors and felt that my Mother’s cognitive decline did not fit the typical pattern.   She felt that the changes my Mother started to experience happened overnight vs. being a gradual process.  It bothered her, so she sent a letter to my Mother’s physician and explained her concerns.  This led to a conversation between my Mother’s Doctor and the Health Care Manager.  As they reviewed my Mother’s case, a light bulb went off.  My Mother had a medication change in December….was it possible that the med change was negatively affecting her current physical and mental state?   Was it possible that the changes we’d noticed were not necessarily caused by the next stage of the dementia, but a medicine interaction? 

Thanks to the Health Care Manager’s detective work and follow up with the health care provider, we’ve stopped the new medicine that was added to my Mother’s care plan in December.  We have our fingers crossed that we will see a difference and that some of the decline will be reversed.  It is possible that there are other causes – a series of small strokes, for example.  But for now, we are addressing what the Doctor thinks is the most likely cause.

We’ve learned a good lesson.  Never assume that even small changes are “normal” …question everything!  And seek professional help whenever necessary.