rosiev

There are probably many people out there who struggle on a daily basis like my husband and I do with helping a troubled parent. If you are, I'd like to hear about your story. Here are a few details about my situation:

My Mother-In-Law was a capable, sophisticated, successful woman before she retired. Since retiring, however, she has descended into addiction and illness. She is now in her mid-seventies. We did not associate her decline with alcohol until she reached a crisis with her health and doctors started telling us that it was clear she was a heavy drinker and had been for a long time. It turns out she has been drinking alone and hiding it for many years.

One of her health issues is dementia. Her memory is pretty bad these days. We wonder if she turned to alcohol more after realizing that her memory was slipping. We will never know, though, because she can't or won't tell us. Unfortunately she is not married and does not have any friends that she feels comfortable confiding in. Her Son and I are trying every day to help her, but she resists us and we feel like we are failing. her dementia is mild enough that she still qualifies as a responsible adult. Sadly, she is constantly drinking, which makes her dementia worse.

We struggle with feeling like we are obligated to keep trying to get her to face her problem with alcohol because it is literally her only chance of stabilizing her health at all. But any conversation about alcohol makes her furious and chips away at our fragile relationship.

Thanks for listening!