Comments on: Blog 11: Calendar Daze (cont)

By: Fay

Fay — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:33:40 +0000

Hello Sonia,
Good to hear from you.
It definitely was hard for the boys to have to watch their father decline and, each time they saw him, after a break, there would always be comments about this or that deterioration that they detected. And, as I listened to the comments, I realised that these “debriefings” occurred, not only because of the boys’ concern for their father, but also because of concerns for themselves. “Is the beginning of that decline happening to me?” they would be asking themselves. From this point of view I think that it is sometimes harder for a child of a person with dementia than it is for the partner. I think that nagging question …. “Is it happening to me? ……. is always at the back of the mind of the child ….. though, on odd occasions, you will still catch me counting backwards from 100 by sevens.

By: Sonia Hendy

Sonia Hendy — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 03:32:15 +0000

Great family memories to keep. I think the road to Sydney was imprinted in Bill’s brain, it was just all the other stuff around the drive that was difficult. It must have been hard for the boys who saw their dad with gaps of time in between and the obvious decline each time.

By: Fay

Fay — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 04:18:39 +0000

Hello Shirley,
Thank you for finding time to read and comment. As you suggest, when I started writing, I wrote purely for family history, but then my son told me that, these days, people Blog such stories. Needless to say, I hadn’t even heard the word “BLOG” at that stage and it’s been a sharp learning curve for me. But what a way to do it. The response has been fantastic and it’s heartwarming for me to know that friends such as yourself are reading it and remembering Bill as they do so ….. a year after his death.
There are 53 blogs in all, Shirley, Blog 12 having just been posted, and I would just love it if you could find the time to keep reading and commenting now and again. Thank you for your ongoing friendship. Talk soon, Fay

By: Fay

Fay — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 04:03:43 +0000

Hello Jill,
How lovely to hear from you, our first female President. I remember you and your family well.
There will be 53 blogs, in all, Jill …. so, if you can find the time, keep reading. Blog 12 has just gone up.
And, if you can, make a comment here and there, that would be wonderful. Google counts the comments and moves us progressively forward to its front page on “dementia” as they do so.
So thank you for listening and remembering, Jill. Bill held you in high esteem and would have been delighted if he could have read your words.
Fay

By: Shirley Mahon

Shirley Mahon — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:39:24 +0000

Fay – you are wonderful to record this for your children and others. The journey of dementia can be long and slow, it can be devastatingly fast. To read Bill’s journey, keeping in mind his beautiful smile and lovely manner in the years I knew him at Rotary, I am in awe of your journey in supporting the man you loved through such a frightening time.
Having personal experience of this disease within my family I understand how differently it manifests, and how difficult it is for doctors to properly diagnose and therefore treat.
Thank you for allowing us to read and share this journey with you and your family. Shirley

By: Jill Innes

Jill Innes — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:07:19 +0000

Hi Fay. I hope you remember me from Rotary. John S posted this blog on Facebook and I have spent the past hour reading it. I now have big tears in my eyes. I hadn’t idea of all this since 2005 was my year as president of Rotary and I left the following year. You write in an amazing way. I think the absolute world of Bill and you. I’m so sorry to hear of his decline but I am so glad that you were such a help to him. I know you must miss him very much but thank you for sharing your story. One of my best friends just lost her mum to dementia. Her mum was very special to me too and it was very hard to watch and understand. I’m not sure if you are writing more but thank you and I hope you find a true happiness in whatever is next for you. Love Jill

By: Fay

Fay — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:03:34 +0000

He did, Suzi. He held up well even over Christmas of 2011, two months before he died. I conducted the Trivia Quiz that year and I remember him grumbling about me doing it ….. resented the attention that I was paying to others …… but mostly he was no trouble, smiling at the baby, frowning at the children as they ran through his house ….. just his old self really! Fay

By: Fay

Fay — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:55:53 +0000

Well, that comment put a smile on my face, David. Yes, you and your father would certainly draw lines. What about your brothers. Do you think that they might be more inclined to draw curves and circles? Fay

By: Suzi Carson

Suzi Carson — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 05:31:42 +0000

Bill really enjoyed those family get-togethers, didn’t he, Fay? I know some of them became tiring for him perhaps much later on, but even then he enjoyed them, didn’t he?
S

By: David

David — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:18:01 +0000

Great to see Blog 11 up. Just like Dad, I draw lines and squares not circles or curves. I guess we are particular and perhaps even a bit perdantic. I suppose it reflects our conservative nature – a more linear outlook.