Our Families Journey Caring for a Mom with FTLD-MND

It is important to know as you read this journal that this was Cathy's life post diagnosis...

To know Cathy Truly you must know that she was: a Wife, Mother of 3 boys, Grandmother of 9, Sister, Niece, Aunt, Daughter, and Friend.

Our families journey began with Cathy's diagnosis the week of Thanksgiving 2006, Cathy was 52. Her original diagnosis was Pick's Disease/FTD. Looking back her symptoms most likely began 3-5 years before diagnosis. Most of the Doctors have told us that from onset of symptoms to death... the average timeframe is 4-7 years. (sigh) In the end her brain autopsy showed Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration with Motor Neuron Disease FTLD-MND. (Basically... Frontal Lobe Dementia with Lou Gehrig's Disease)

Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Cathy's 53rd Birthday

We celebrated her 53rd Birthday this weekend.

It went ok. I have to be honest. We all visited & enjoyed spending time together. I got her picture with her cake. We ate supper, & we were still waiting for some family to arrive before eating the cake.... but then looked over and she was cutting it up & eating some. She was in a hurry. It seems that anytime she gets something on her mind she just b-lines it to get it done. This illness makes her lose her social skills. She prefers to eat alone & hurry right back to the recliner to watch a movie. I am Thankful I got this picture of her & her smiling!

On a side note she has been cutting her own hair. It has a choppy look to it. She did get it cut before coming down & the hairstylist tried to smooth it out. For a few years she had been growing it long again. But now she seems to prefer it short.