The flower is fading

Mom's name is Violet. It seems an appropriate name currently as I watch her fade away as with most flowers as winter approaches. The old wit and laughter has for the most part left as this insidious disease is taking it's toll.
I mentioned a couple weeks ago of the trauma putting her into an assisted living facility. Since that time things have become progressively worse, resulting in a hospital admission Sunday night then a transfer to a rehab center Tuesday.
Tuesday morning we were blessed with a short time of good lucidity, when the old spark came back into her eyes. When told of some of the things she had been saying she laughed so hard she needed a Kleenex to wipe the tears from her eyes. It was short lived. Tuesday evening she called me not knowing where she was and wanting to go home and come back some other time. She had wandered to another section of the building after being told not to even stand without assistance. She was lost but found a phone in the room she was in to call me, a number she still remembers.
Why do I write of such personal matters? Selfishly it is a catharsis to do so. I also know others in Candlewick who are going through much the same thing. We will all get through this together....we have no alternative.
Another note, I have never in my life witnessed such a rapid diminishing of finances. All these things are horribly expensive but there is no alternative. Some will read this and dismiss it. Others will understand the depth of sadness and helplessness. It affects every aspect of a person's personality when they are a family member witnessing the disease progression. My temper is ridiculously short and I know it. The situation is always on my mind and maddening.
Ken Dillenburg