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In reply to the discussion: Trump Just Got Lost Walking To His Limo [View all]NYResister
(164 posts)alarming.
In the case of my mother-in-law, she had mild, early stage dementia. Mostly she showed signs of forgetfulness and repetitive talk during conversations.
Nothing serious, and nothing alarming, until she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
What I learned was that simple anesthesia in the elderly can turn a mild case of dementia into a full blown case.
She emerged from the surgery in a full blown case of dementia. She was hallucinating, she was paranoid, she was hostile and angry.
None of the above were part of her usual personality. She went into surgery, somewhat normal for her age, and wound up in a nursing home and dying within one month.
My father-in-law was showing signs of early dementia for years. He was a class act, and a super sweet guy, but suddenly was showing signs of inappropriate behavior. Completely unexpected inappropriate behavior. He was a brilliant and successful accountant for a large firm. And we watched as he looked for the "f" button on the microwave, the 3:00am phone calls of paranoia, or the attempting to calculate our phone numbers left by his bedside, and then calling us to tell us the numbers didn't add up.