Anyone's elderly parent with early stages dementia had Covid - and did it affect their dementia?

[loveyouradvice]

I've just been to visit my mum, 82, in her care home - first day allowed in.

She had Covid just 5 weeks ago ... classic delirium and exhaustion but nothing else and all reports - physio and carers - said she had recovered well. She wasn't really up to talking long on the phone but never has been really.

When I saw her today she didnt know who I was - nor that she lived in the home - or anything really. No recognition of anything I said.

Pre Covid she knew our names and a bit about us, and remembered lot of stories from long ago, and even remembered stuff sometimes that had happened that day

I feel absolutely devastated ... while wondering if she might recover.

Has this happened to anyone else?

My DGM (90) had Covid in November, she's in a home and she has Parkinsons Dementia.

She wasn't extremely poorly with it and recovered physically.

Her dementia has definitely been worse since then but she's not been quite so confused over the past few weeks. She doesn't know she's in the home sometimes and thinks she's in her family home or at work some days.

There's definitely been a deterioration since last year but it's hard to say if that's been caused by Covid, the lack of visitors and stimulation, worry or just time. A year is a long time in the course of a dementia diagnosis.

Remember they've not seen anyone from outside the home for a year now and there will be an impact of that and also the anxiety of what's happened.

Really hope she does pick up and now you can visit her again things improve.

Crocodile that is encouraging. The idea that she is still recovering from Covid and may improve. It is only 5 weeks ago and although not obviously poorly they don't really know what it does to old people's brains and I know Zoe puts delirium as the main symptom for her age group, so I suspect they respond differently to younger people

Bizarrely we were able to see Mum in November quite a bit - she was in rehab following a fall and they told us we could visit her once a day - so I saw her five times then, and have a good base line for comparison.

Feeling sad and about to get up, dust myself down and do what's needed next.