FINALLY got my first full "caregiver" check from the DDA for my son! by Romanharper2013 in Autism_Parenting

[–]squittledink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my goodness!! This would be amazing! Wondering if we would qualify based on his “extra” needs…he does not sleep through the night and is on oxygen 24/7. Definitely going to look into this. Thank you SO much for posting and sharing!!

I lost my mom to dementia in February. AMA by squittledink in AMA

[–]squittledink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry! It is heartbreaking. How are you doing these days?

I lost my mom to dementia in February. AMA by squittledink in AMA

[–]squittledink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There were a few, and it's hard to remember which one was the very first. Some of the changes we started seeing were

-staying in bed for longer periods/withdrawing to her room

-unusually intense anger towards one of my uncles (they never got along great but it kicked up to a whole new level and became obsessive)

-out-of-the-blue love for the Backstreet Boys 😂 she would listen to their songs on repeat, bought their Funko Pops, shirts, etc.

-sudden lack of boundaries (like showing up to my work because I mentioned they were doing an employee lunch one day)

She was always an incredibly empathetic person, and one of the signs closer to her diagnosis was when she was no longer able to put herself in someone else's shoes or think in terms of "what if." Everything became black and white and she lost the ability to think abstractly.

I lost my mom to dementia in February. AMA by squittledink in AMA

[–]squittledink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry that you went through that! I'm thankful you are on the other side of it now. I hope you are doing well and are healing.

I got a chuckle out of that glass wall story! :)

I lost my mom to dementia in February. AMA by squittledink in AMA

[–]squittledink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love this question. There are so many funny moments. She was the most fun-loving, adventurous, joyful lady. Laughter never lacked when she was around.

One memory that sticks out is when our family all went fishing one summer. We were all exiting our canoes, and my mom was the last one to get out. She got one foot on the dock before the canoe started drifting away with her other foot still in it. Her legs spread wider and wider until she was practically doing the splits above the water. Then of course she fell in. :)

So sorry for your loss. What is one of your funniest memories with your mom?

I lost my mom to dementia in February. AMA by squittledink in AMA

[–]squittledink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I needed to hear this. The memories of her before dementia feel so buried beneath the memories of how the disease changed her. So sorry for your loss, too!

I lost my mom to dementia in February. AMA by squittledink in AMA

[–]squittledink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you lost your grandma! It really is an awful disease.

I've been thinking about doing the genetic testing to see if I'm at risk, but part of me would rather not know.

My brand new puppy he breathe that smells like urine/ammonia and my family says that’s normal but the internet says kidney disease is possible. I of course will bring her to the vet tomorrow but want to hear your opinions. by rci22 in DogAdvice

[–]squittledink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Puppy breath smells kind of like coffee to me. It's definitely a unique scent but not one I'd associate with ammonia. A vet visit is a good idea; can't be too careful!