Mom's decline is sharp but there doesn't seem to be a reason. Is this the beginning of the end?

My MIL has begun a very sharp decline recently. I don't speak to or see her, so I have to rely on DH's assessment. He delivered a small gift to her on Christmas Eve and she wasn't even aware it WAS Christmas Eve. She thought he'd come by to fix some things for her. He left me in the car, so he just lifted a pot for her and left her, but said she seemed 'really, really out of it and barely able to ambulate.'

She's been slipping, but the last couple of months, it has sped up a lot. No rhyme or reason for it..nothing has changed--she's LOVING the pandemic b/c it keeps people away from her, so it's not that at all.

DH's concern is that this year he is going to have to exert his POA and have her moved to a full time NH. She is wearing her daughter to a nub, as she will only allow her to 'help her' and she's too weak to pick up a 1 lb sack of potatoes. DH is simply waiting for the 'fall' that is almost inevitable that will take her down even more.

I think that decline is as personal as any other thing our LO's go through. there's no set timelime or way to judge. Last year I would have thought MIL would live to 100. Now I'll be surprised if she makes it to summer. But, of course, we don't know.

That recently happened with my FIL as well. Beginning in October he seemed to start a sharp decline cognitively. Forgetting how to do routine things-like put his hand out to receive his medication. Then the first week in November he started having difficulty walking-like his brain wouldn’t tell his feet to move. He had several small falls, and then on Nov 10th fell at night and twisted his ankle pretty good. By noon he couldn’t remember how to walk at all. We took him to the ER and had a whole battery of tests run-ekg, MRI, CT Scan, blood work. Nothing could pinpoint anything going on, so it was determined it was park of the Alzheimer’s process. He went to rehab to try to work on walking and get some strength back and let the ankle heal. Unfortunately being at the hospital and then rehab caused him to have hospital delirium so bad he stopped eating and drinking. He couldn’t understand where he was or why he was there. Thought his wife and sons were dead-even though my husband was able to visit daily. He was diagnosed with failure to thrive and hospice was called in. He passed away on December 16th quietly in his sleep. 🤦🏼‍♀️😢🙏🏻

Good that there were a bunch of tests done to try to figure out what's going on. But the body is quite complicated and often a reason can not be determined. I guess you just kind of have to go with the flow and accept that this is how things are. Until they change again, which I'm pretty sure they will.

I saw your first post was in 2017 and you suspected Mom had a Dementia. During these tests was her neurologist involved? If so, did you ask him/her this question?

In my family, once diagnosed their ALZ journey was 10 yrs or more. The decline was slow. Like your Mom, there were signs before the actual diagnosis. To answer your question though, yes decline can come on faster. It has to do with the part of the brain now effected. There is a part that controls speech and I think motor skills too. Not saying this is the end. My Nurses used to call it an episode. I would talk to her neurologist and see if therapy would help.