Tru here.

This happened during our month-long vacation to spend time with my mother and maternal extended family in June-July.  On the surface, primary purpose for trip was distributing “Independence” folders with stories of ancestors involved in US independence efforts in some way, but on a deeper level it was culmination of 6 months intense preparation for building family interest in order to find some younger family member to take over my 13 years of labor in Family History efforts.  So there was a lot going on, emotionally and physically.

Had been traveling 5 days so far, spending time at various places along the way.  Woke 4:30am on June 22 with nausea, vertigo, and disorientation.  I woke husband at 6:30am, explaining what was going on.  Since these have been my standard symptoms for what we theorize are the minor strokes showing on my MRI, my husband gave me an additional baby aspirin.  Thankfully, symptoms eased over the next hour.  We decided to change vacation plans, foregoing some of the travel activities in order to get closer to the hospital near my mother, in case I needed hospital care.

A few days later, when returning from restroom at small restaurant, I found the dining room was scattered with men, all sitting alone at separate tables.  I did not recognize any of them.  Recognizing my husband has been a morning problem for about two years now, but usually resolves as soon as he speaks to me.

It occurred to me that I felt like “Little Chicken” in the book, and maybe should walk up to each table asking, “Are you my husband?”  It was a very scary, ALONE feeling.

The first time a new symptom occurs it is usually extra scary and disorienting.  I have decided to get and self-train another Service Dog; this time a MEMORY Service Dog, to whom I can simply state, “Find Guy” or “Find Home”.

We returned from vacation mid-July, but I have had computer problems, then went tent camping with little grandsons and returned end of last week, so this is first chance I have had to write.

Newest struggle is similar to what some would call apathy (but I think I disagree).  Hope to write about it soon.
* Admin issues: SHARE dementia awareness thru buttons below. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of comments, but please filter your comments with truthful loving kindness to all concerned. If interested in receiving notice of future blog postings, subscriptions are available through a “follow” button in the upper left corner (MS Explorer) or lower right (Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Chrome). If there is an advertisement below, I have no control over what is shown. My own full legal name is Truthful Loving Kindness. My current diagnosis is Mild Cognitive Impairment, but my neurologist said I am in a unique position for helping because I have “one foot in each door”. Copyright 2016-08/09 with 2hrs on txt + 0.5hrs on graphic. Search terms: dementia, disorientation, recognizing family, stroke, service dog

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