My mother had lived alone for ten years after the death of my father in 1999.  She moved from the family home into a condominium and gradually socialized, making 4 or 5 new neighbor friends.  She would visit with them and chat on the telephone to pass the time.  Between them and her brother and sister, she was well socialized and generally happy with her life.  Toward the end of the decade, things were changing.  Her brother had passed away from Alzheimer's disease after a significant struggle with it, and her younger sister had been diagnosed with it.  She remained healthy until stricken by a mild stroke in October of 2007.

The stroke didn't seem to have a great affect on her except for two conspicuous changes.  She had developed a small droop in the corner of her mouth, appearing to be a smirk, toward the left side of her face, and she tired very quickly every afternoon.  These things seemed "fortunate", because strokes can cause a number of serious disabilities.  In the year following the stroke, her life continued without any significant noticeable changes.  At least, that was my perception.  Her neighbors probably noticed a few things, but attributed it to her advancing age and normal forgetfulness. 

In January of 2009, my mother had a serious injury accident.  She had lost her balance while stepping out of her shower and fallen over backwards.  The result was a fractured L2 vertebra, which went undiscovered at the hospital emergency room until a relapse occurred 18 days later.  She was sent home to recover with bed rest and pain medication.  I moved in to her spare bedroom and took care of her over what was expected initially, to be a three or four week recovery.  It was much longer.  This is where the story begins.

As I was taking care of mom, we had many conversations while doing her physical therapy exercises, having meals, and watching television together.  Except for the back pain, she seemed to be fine in every way, except for one.  She would ask me a question about something and I would answer her.  I noticed that she started to ask the same question a short time later.  In the days that followed, I observed that I was being asked a question, sometimes as often as three or four times an hour.  It was always the same question, followed by my same answer. 

At first, I just joked with her about her absent mindedness, never thinking that anything was wrong.  She laughed about it, blaming it on her old age, since she was 88.  It became apparent that something might be wrong after having spent a few weeks together.  I decided to discuss it with mom as a serious matter.  She looked me straight in the eye and said "I suppose that you think I have Alzheimer's."  I replied that I didn't think that, but was concerned about her repeating questions and her newest issue of repeating normal comments to me, also.  She was getting a little irritated by my concerns.  Her sister had passed away from Alzheimer's disease about three months earlier, and I believe that she was very afraid that she might be next.