Mum's memory...

Mum is stronger. But still gets bad memory gaps.

We went into her neighbour's house the other day and, as we sat on the sofa waiting for tea(!) mum looked around admiringly and said, "Ooo. I don't think I've ever been in here before."

Um, but she has. Karen gave her a spare key and frequently calls mum if she is going to be late getting back, asking her to pop in her house and switch on the heating/lights/feed dog/let dog out. Oops.

Up to a point, once her memory is nudged, the original memories come flooding back. It's amazing to witness, actually. She goes from completely blank to "OHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and you can almost hear a filing cabinet opening in her head and all these old photo's come tumbling out. She smiles and her eyes get bigger and suddenly, all the information is just there.

Other things, though, haven't come back. Yet. I hope "yet". As of today, no memory of going in Karen's house before. Hey ho.

As Jane suggested, I am not pushing memories or forcing them, and I'm certainly not saying things like, "Don't you remember?" or "You know!". And I've adopted a rule of only answering what mum asks. Don't add anything. If you do, she'll think she can't remember that either, and that will add stress.