At home he was often upset and very restless. At first in memory care he said things like "I'll never get out of here" but now he seems happier there than he was at home. He seems relaxed an at ease. He has a lady friend who is almost always with him when I visit. She is very nice and sweet and fawns over him a lot but in a sweet way. I always include her in our conversations but when he and I start talking more intimately about various things she leaves and does it in a very nice way. If I spend too much alone time with him he begins "come on lets go home" "do you have the keys? lets go home" yet most often when I visit he seems more relaxed and happier than I've seen him in quite a while.
You CANNOT ask for more than that.
Please don't waste your time worrying about why he's happier there than he was at home. Instead be grateful that he's just happy and more relaxed now.
Not everyone who places a loved one in memory care can say the same.
You are blessed beyond measure that he's doing so well! Don't forget that!
I think that the reason your husband now seems happier isn't exactly because of where he is, it's because he's no longer aware (or not as much) of the fact he can't remember or think properly, as he once did. Those troubling, niggling worries have melted away, and he's just in the here and now.
Part of that could be because he's no longer at home, not because home wasn't a nice place, but it kept him tethered to those worries about what he was forgetting. In the care home, those reminders are gone.
Don't feel sad that he seems happier away from you. It's probably because he had loved you and your life together that he was trying to hold on to the past, but it kept slipping through his fingers.
Now, he can just let go.
Memory care is designed for people with dementia. Life is simplified. There is a routine. Routine can provide stability and comfort. Activities designed for people with dementia help them feel engaged without constant failure and frustration. Extroverts especially like the additional human interaction.
Some people, as they progress in their dementia, can become more at peace, whereas the early and middle stages were full of loss and frustration they were mentally more aware of.
I have seen this on a personal basis with a friend of my aunt's years ago. Her husband believed that one of his fellow residents was his wife, and would introduce the visiting wife as "here's my nice friend who visits".
As I said, this is not uncommon. This is quite common when the dementia has reached the stage where the person no longer remembers family relationships. They may often think a visiting daughter is the wife. The only thing one can do really, is understand that if their loved one has found any happiness that is a good thing. Imho.
He accepts because he is in a place that does not confuse him, it is calming and he has a friend.
You seem at ease with his calmness and acceptance both of his situation and his friendship. Because you are calm and relaxed that helps him know that he and you are both OK.
As I often said caring for my Husband you Mourn what was yet you rejoice in what you have.
((hugs))
With dementia, different parts of the brain are functioning and/or losing cells - meaning that 'we' often do not know the why of how a person with dementia communicates, behaves, understands.
[I had a client for two years who spoke jibberish. Occasoinally, I would say "I have to get something out of my car, I'll be back" and she'd say "Okay" - these moments of presumed clarity didn't happen often and I wonder how / and why they did happen when they did.]
I would guess it has to do with how he processes 'present' time, and how relaxed he might feel with others around him. When he sees you, his mind 'may' go to "oh, I know you ... my wife ... let's go home. When you aren't there, he doesn't think about this as his brain doesn't 'think ahead' to when you'll be with him.
This is a guess.
While you do not tell us the degree or kind of dementia he has, he might be aware of 'all' the staff caring for him and find comfort in that ... it could be medication...
What I hear in your post is that you do not feel any 'jealousy' of the woman who pays more / a lot of attention to him (not that you would naturally or automatically do that - these relationships can / do change due to memory loss). If anything, you are very considerate of her, knowing she is a support to your husband.
It could be as simple as he sees 'lots' of people around and feels safe(r).
We often do not know (if ever) what or how a person's brain processes information / thoughts.
If I were you, I would count my blessings that he feels somewhat well adjusted and comfortable where he is. And, perhaps get a book or two on dementia and learn how the brain functions.
Gena / Touch Matters
This is called Sundowning, a very common behavior of dementia. People want to go home, but not to the home they most recently occupied -- rather most likely a home deep in their long-term memory, a happy place, like their childhood home.
My 100-yr old Aunt with dementia wanted to "go home" every afternoon even though she was sitting in the one she'd been living in since 1975.
It makes me happy to read about your husband's adjustment and contentedness.
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