Hoping for a turn-around with my MIL

Prayers and good thoughts for your MIL! Wishing her a fast recovery.

Recently read a good book on memory which touched on dementia. The author was a very well known neurologist. He described a case of an older lady who was a well-known volunteer around the hospital. She was found wandering with no clothes on in a very bad state. They called him in for a dementia diagnosis and he treated her for a medical condition which was affecting her mind. (I think it was a urinary infection). If they could  just get her meds right and help her physical problems I bet her mind will become much better. prayers for you all.

She got transferred back to UCI yesterday afternoon which disoriented her even further. She called my husband wondering why she was in the hospital and worried about being there for no reason and putting the poor nurses out. My husband drove his dad down there and they visited but when she called later, she didn't remember my husband had been there, just my FIL. Thank goodness she recognizes my husband's voice over the phone. We were on the phone with her wonderful nurse last night at 11 pm convincing her it was OK to take the blood pressure pills even though they weren't the same ones she has at home..... Took 20 minutes to get 4 pills down her.... poor nurse, I know he was overwhelmed by his workload but he never let on that he was in a hurry or that she was taking too long. Hoping the clot isn't growing, they adjusted the flow of the shunt thinking maybe it was letting too much fluid out and causing the bleed.....

I just saw this. I'm so sorry you all are going through it. Will be praying for you (plural).

Dementia is only a symptom and many things can cause it. Yes, including UTIs. I know that's not what her problem - not saying it is. I hope they get her medical condition under control and she's back to herself soon. It is frightening for her, also. God bless her caring nurse.

Yesterday was uneventful for her other than that she is still in the ICU but nothing new so we'll take it. She also seems calmer, none of the screaming, ranting and agitation. She is definitely confused but she has been in UCI (University of California at Irvine Hospital) for surgery, home, back to a local hospital for pneumonia, then transferred back to UCI for monitoring of the blood clot that developed. Lots of moving around. She has suffered depression for years, since the kids were little but who knows.... she just got diagnosed in the last year with the issue with her spinal fluid not draining properly. She also has a cyst in her cerebellum which causes balance issues. Mix that with basically uncontrolled diabetes and heart disease and you don't have a very healthy person At least my husband is making changes in his diet and exercise so he does not end up like his parents. We're heading down soon to go visit her.

I hope she continues to show improvement. Glad things are quieting down. We should all eat better.  I have GOT to get back to the gym!!

She is looking relaxed and happier now, at least. They figured out the right medication to calm her down. They gave her Ativan the other day and it made her agitation worse! She was screaming, ranting that they made her have the surgery and she didn't want it, all kinds of crazy delusions but now she is just confused. She actually thinks she is in a commercial being filmed at the hospital and marvels that she was chosen and keeps asking the nurses if they are in the commercial, too. There is a camera on the wall so the nurses' station can monitor her and we think that is where she is getting her idea from. You can correct her, remind her she is in the hospital as a patient and is not part of a commercial being filmed but 5 minutes later, she has forgotten. The brain is a strange instrument! She recognizes us and is happy to see us, brings up events that happened 20+ years ago so her long term memory is still good. Hopefully her poor brain is healing.

Prayers for you all.
We just learned a friend has had a sudden onset of dementia. One of the most intelligent articulate people I have ever met. They are working on finding the cause.