Dad Knew More Than People Thought He Did

I wrote about Dad's decline in skills and abilities, but I want to provide more information. Dementia involves a wide spectrum of conditions and effects on those who suffer through it. In Dad's case, he actually knew more than people thought he did.

When Dad would forget something or someone, some folks wrongly assumed that he was "losing it", but in dad's case, that's not true. Yes, his skills and speech eroded, but he still knew alot and was situationally aware. Even when he reached the point that he could not say our names, or his name, or outwardly express that he knew who we were, he still knew who he and we were. He knew how to do alot of things, but he was no longer able to act correctly upon that knowledge.

So, how do I know this? The Lord intervened to help me understand last summer. During a difficult day, Dad and I were struggling to accomplish basic tasks. He was frustrated, and so was I. Not much seemed to be working well for us that day. Dad couldn't speak to tell me his thoughts, but his mind was working overtime, as were his gestures. I knew he had a message for me, and the Lord broke through to speak through my dad's face and eyes. I heard him so clearly without saying a word. He knew. He knew me. He knew himself. He knew how to do the tasks facing us that day, but he was trapped with knowledge that he could no longer express or put into practice.

For me, that was one of our many "come to Jesus" moments. I hugged him. I told him I understood. I calmed him, and me too. I told him that we were alright, that the Lord was taking care of us. I told him "Daddy, nothing you do is wrong! We're just going to take care of this little situation and move along with our day."

It led me to often mumble to myself something like "Greg, get a grip. Just think about 30 years from now." I'll explain the meaning of that in a future post.

February 1, 2018