{"id":956,"date":"2025-06-27T06:09:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T06:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/?p=956"},"modified":"2025-06-27T06:17:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T06:17:18","slug":"forgetfulness-or-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/forgetfulness-or-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgetfulness or Dementia? What Happened to Aunty Mei"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Aunty Mei was the life of every family gathering. Her food brought us together, and her stories\u2014full of colour and laughter\u2014were unforgettable. She could remember every detail from the past, down to what she wore at a cousin\u2019s wedding 30 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

But slowly, things started to change.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first, we didn\u2019t think much of it. She would ask the same question more than once, misplace her glasses (which we later found in the fridge), or call her grandson by her son\u2019s name. We brushed it off.<\/span>
<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s just old age,\u201d<\/b> we told ourselves. After all, everyone forgets things sometimes\u2026 right?<\/span><\/p>\n

Then one day, she didn\u2019t come home from the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

She had gone to the same market for over three decades. The vendors knew her. They\u2019d keep aside the best vegetables just for her. But that day, she got lost. Hours passed. Her daughter, Siew Ling, received a call from a kind stranger who found her standing by the roadside\u2014confused, scared, unsure of where she was. She couldn\u2019t remember which bus to take. She didn\u2019t even remember her own address.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was the moment we knew this was something serious.<\/span><\/p>\n

We brought her to the doctor, hoping it was something simple\u2014maybe lack of sleep, vitamins, or stress. But after tests and scans, the answer came: <\/span>early-stage dementia.<\/b> A word no one wants to hear, but deep down, we knew it explained everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

The missed names. The forgotten words. The repeated questions. These weren\u2019t just \u201csenior moments.\u201d They were warning signs we didn\u2019t catch.<\/span><\/p>\n

We began to understand the difference.<\/span>
<\/span> Forgetting where you put your keys? Normal.<\/span>
<\/span> Forgetting what keys are for? That\u2019s not.<\/span>
<\/span> Occasionally blanking on someone\u2019s name? It happens.<\/span>
<\/span> But struggling to remember close family\u2014again and again\u2014is a red flag.<\/span><\/p>\n

She would get confused mid-conversation. She once forgot how to get home from a road she\u2019d walked her whole life. These were the signs we wish we\u2019d understood earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the beginning, Aunty Mei didn\u2019t believe it.<\/span>
<\/span> \u201cI\u2019m just old,\u201d<\/b> she would say.<\/span>
<\/span> \u201cThis happens to everyone.\u201d<\/b>
<\/b> But over time, she could feel the difference. She would lose words mid-sentence. She would wake up at night thinking it was morning. She was frustrated, and scared.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was not easy for our family.<\/span><\/p>\n

Siew Ling had to learn how to speak gently. We couldn\u2019t argue or correct her too harshly. Routines had to be made simple. We labelled everything in the house. We wrote reminders. Most importantly, we made sure she was never left alone outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were tough moments\u2014but also beautiful ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

We learned patience. We learned how to slow down. We realised how important it is to be present. Even if she can\u2019t remember every detail, her eyes still light up when we sit with her, show her old photos, or hold her hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dementia takes away memories, yes\u2014but it doesn\u2019t take away love. And it doesn\u2019t take away the person we care about.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one lesson we want to share\u2014it\u2019s this:<\/span>
<\/span> Forgetfulness is part of life. But when it starts to affect daily living, don\u2019t wait. Get help.<\/b>
<\/b> Because sometimes, it\u2019s more than just aging. It\u2019s something more serious\u2014and catching it early can make a big difference.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being far from elderly parents doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t stay close. From heartfelt video calls to thoughtful care packages, discover 7 meaningful ways to maintain a strong emotional connection\u2014even when miles apart.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living","category-health","tag-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=956"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":962,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956\/revisions\/962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/komunecare.com\/cn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}