I've said many times, "well, if I get dementia I want to enjoy it like my Grandma did". She was a committed Christian for the last 5 decades of her life and took forgiveness and prayer very seriously. Towards the end, when my dad would visit her he'd ask how she was and she'd say that she was fine and that she'd just come back from a wonderful visit (or church) with her cousins (all of whom were long deceased). Whilst she was often disoriented, she was rarely fearful. Quite the opposite it seems. One time during a dinner she kept "re-discovering" the cheese-cake - "Oh, cheese cake! I'll just have one piece!" - 5 times.
I think about this a lot.
I've said many times, "well, if I get dementia I want to enjoy it like my Grandma did". She was a committed Christian for the last 5 decades of her life and took forgiveness and prayer very seriously. Towards the end, when my dad would visit her he'd ask how she was and she'd say that she was fine and that she'd just come back from a wonderful visit (or church) with her cousins (all of whom were long deceased). Whilst she was often disoriented, she was rarely fearful. Quite the opposite it seems. One time during a dinner she kept "re-discovering" the cheese-cake - "Oh, cheese cake! I'll just have one piece!" - 5 times.
Glory be to God, that's a very beautiful example to have in one's life!