Processes in Aging

My mother celebrated her 95th birthday on December 18th.  I have been with her much of her life and especially for the past 17 years.  Six years ago she had a CT-Scan of her head and her neurologist reported that some of Mom's brain processes were slowing down due to age.  Other doctors have reported some of her diverticulae wearing out in her digestive track and have recommended certain foods for her to eat.  She has age-related macular degeneration in both eyes and has lost quite a bit of central vision in her left eye.

I speak of her memory as a "swiss cheese" memory--some of it is solid and suddenly, without warning, she "falls into a hole."  When she finds her self in a "hole" the good news for her to remember is that she will soon be back on the solid part of her memory.

She does not, thank God, have Alsheimers.  She does have an aging brain and, fortunately, has been on supplemental oxygen for about four years--this provides the oxygen-rich environment the brain needs to stay as healthy as it can for as long as it can.

Her personality has not changed and she is still as independent as she can be and is interested in the National Geographic, the Smithsonian, Time, Reader's Digest, and other current magazines.  With a note from her eye doctor, she now receives materials from the Library of Congress-National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (see other posts for more details).

We used to enjoy watching videos (DVDs or video-cassettes) and listening to audiobooks together.  Recently (in the last month), Mom has noticed that her processing needs more time to understand speech--that is, she cannot understand what is being said on the DVDs or videos--and sometimes even the audiobooks--because the action and the voices speak too rapidly for her processing speed to catch up.

I have noticed that she still enjoys reading large print books.  Some of her favorites are Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who" series.  She know the characters and can follow the action at her own pace.

I'm glad she still enjoys reading and we can have good conversations as long as I speak slowly and clearly and in a bright enough light for her to watch my lips as I speak.  Mom is hard of hearing and has good hearing aids.  At this point these hearing aids are more frustration than help because she cannot process what she hears quickly enough for her to follow or to engage in conversations taking place in "normal time."

I believe these changes are normal and are important for me to follow--it may happen to me some day as well.  I know I need to adjust my expectations to match her changes--that allows me to respond to her well.  Rather than being frustrated by what she can no longer do, I need to continue to appreciate what she can do and has done.

I'm blessed to have her in my life for this long and I am glad her quality of life has not "lost all of its flavor" for her.  She is sleeping more (and dreaming a lot).   We still have fun together and I'm more and more aware of how quickly things can change.