The Privileged Few

It turns out mom is among the privileged few who will remain with Dr. O! I wrote to him asking about mom’s appointment next week (if it was still on the books), and if he’d received the neuropsycologist’s report. Over a couple of emails we chatted about:

• Dr. O is keeping just a few patients, and he’d really like mom to be one of them. I know this is in part due to his professional connection with my daughter. Continuity of care for mom’s emotional well-being is very important. While the other doc came highly recommended, mom would have dived into a tail spin in changing care providers. She’s established a very valuable trust with Dr. O during the last 8 months. Starting over would be hard on her, and me. Mom will next see him in January.
• The report from Dr. R is exactly what I thought it would be. Below is Dr. O’s synopsis to me:  

“I read the results of Dr. R’s documentation again today. The findings are consistent with Alzheimer’s Disease. Because this is officially only diagnosed at autopsy, it will be a Major Neurocognitive Disorder (dementia), probable Alzheimer’s type. As you are aware, this is going to continue to get worse, and returning home unless someone was with her 24 /7 is not a safe or recommended option. I believe this move (to her assisted living community), or a move to some type of residential facility is permanent.”

Re-reading these words (over and over) is both a relief, and akin to being punched in the gut.