Seeking a diagnosis

For now, I've been calling my mom's condition "dementia". We don't have a diagnosis yet. And the BC health system is "slow as molasses" (to quote our nurse case manager, SC).

Since we've been unimpressed with my mom's GP, we really didn't want to send her back there and get inadequate care again. Fortunately, we have a distant inlaw who happens to be a geriatric specialist and took a special interest in our case. So we were able to go directly to him and got a referral after the fact.

The tests he did in the office showed that her condition was advanced, and that although he could not be certain without further tests, it is possibly Alzheimer's. He had to inform her that she could no longer drive her car anymore, which was a relief for the family. He also ordered blood tests and a CT scan. The blood tests didn't reveal anything unusual, and we are still waiting to get a CT appointment. (EDIT: A CT scan can detect vascular dementia. There is no actual test to confirm Alzheimer's. Usually, all other forms of dementia are ruled out by other testing and then if the symptoms are comparable enough, it is assumed the disease is Alzheimer's. Only an autopsy of the brain can confirm it 100%.)

In the mean time, we had a visit by a nurse case manager ("Nurse SC"). She did an in-depth assessment with my mom to determine exactly what kind of care she needs and to make other recommendations. She's making a recommendation for my mom to get a daily home support worker. This will enable me and AC to work outside the home, which we desperately need to do.

Being here for so many weeks and being uncertain about when we're going to have to move has made it impossible for us to work. Our bills are piling up, and we haven't been able to afford to spend a cent on ourselves except for groceries and gas.

Another of Nurse SC's recommendations is that my mom get seen by a committee of specialists that will be able to do more specific assessments to see if medication will help her, and to get her involved in activities, etc. Our family is looking forward to that because those will be things that will make a difference in her general level of contentment on a daily basis.

But all this is still going to take a few weeks to roll out, so we have to be patient.