Finding Dad

My dad has Alzheimer’s. My dad (and mum) are in their 70s, and live not too far away from me. They live together (at the moment). Dad knows my name. He recognises me.  He is the same dad that I have known all my 47 years. The dad that has proffered sage advice (usually!) The dad that is so respected in our community. The dad who has ethics and an ethos to be proud of; that Dad.

The dad that I have not always seen eye to eye with, the same dad that I was with when his dad, my grandad, passed away. The very moment he breathed his last breath – me, and Dad.

The dad who took me on holiday, though he never took enough holiday himself. The dad who played football, cricket, table tennis and more with me. The dad who didn’t approve of everything I did, and certainly had a different taste in music.

The dad who worked so hard for more than 50 years, who retired only to find he had Alzheimer’s. I think we knew before he did, and certainly before it was ‘official’. Everyone has or had a dad – I still have mine – just.

Don’t be sad! That’s not the point of this blog.

Since he has had Alzheimer’s disease, I have been Finding Dad.

Finding Dad. Finding him in a very personal way. Finding him to be all I knew, all I’ve said above, and also to be a completely new person since his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Some of it is amusing. Some not.

In the coming weeks, months (and I hope years) this blog will up-date anyone interested in how Dad is coping, how we are coping with him, with Alzheimer’s and the world at large. It will be a mix of the brutally honest, the humorous and the downright every day nature of a son with a dad who has Alzheimer’s. 

Please do add your own comments and experiences below – it’s good to share