I knew it was going to happen.....one day, but I am still not ready.

I come from a family whose elder members have nearly all been struck with severe memory issues as they get older. My Grandparents (my Fathers side) both had something akin to altzheimers. My Grandmother was the one I was aware of most, as my Grandfather died while I was still very young. She lived out the last years of her life with my Dad and step- mother. They did all they could for her amongst a total lack of help from the rest of her Sons and Daughters, but this horrific illness meant she thought the care she was receiving was actually meant to hurt her, and rebelled against them. Eventually she was put into care.

Now the same thing is happening to my Father, he has been put into care. My stepmother is totally at her wits end. There have been frequent outbursts of behaviour I would never have expected my Father to use. He has always been a quiet person, strong willed, but always working hard to do the best by my Stepmother, never violent in all the years I have known him.
The authorities have taken him into respite care, this is good for my Stepmother who has not been getting a lot of sleep lately, my Dad wanders during the night, and she has to ensure he doesn't leave the house.

This whole situation has crept up on all of us, and let's not forget how scared and bewildered my Father must be feeling. He has no idea what is happening to him , everything around him is being changed without really any choice. He is lost in a fast flowing river, spinning wildly with no choice of course.
I have known that this would eventually happen to my Father, and that one day these horrible choices and decisions would be made, not by me or his family, but by others. I do know their decisions will be made for all the right reasons, but undoubtedly they will still be hard to face up to.

I suppose now is not really the time to think about my own future, but, I need to start making plans now. I already suffer from long-term memory issues, and who's to say I may go down the same path as my Father. My Mothers family have never had any problems like this, so maybe I will be lucky and not be affected, I can but pray. At this time though , my prayers are with my Father and Stepmother as they navigate these horrible times. 🙏 🙏 🙏