Frontotemporal Dementia... according to the UCSF Memory and Aging Center... is a group of related conditions resulting from the progressive degeneration of the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. These areas of the brain play a significant role in decision-making, behavior control, emotion and language. FTD is less common than Alzheimer's. There is nothing to stop or slow the progression of this disease.
Today was our family conference with a doctor at the Alzheimer's and Memory Center in Fresno. My mother's diagnosis of FTD was confirmed. In short, the mother that I had grown to love is gone... and she is never coming back! She is already exhibiting many of the symptoms of Phase 2 Dementia, and a few of Phase 3; the terminal phase.
The doctor said "these processes tend to exaggerate old behaviors." This pains me greatly because it was those old behaviors that caused my mother and I not to be close in the first place.
But over the past 10 years our relationship evolved into something truly wonderful, as we bonded over motherhood and other common interests. In a matter of months, as her health has deteriorated, so to has our relationship. My only prayer now is that I will have the strength and wisdom to see my mother through this season of her life.
