"Where's my college ring?" This had become Dad's mantra during some months of his early demented years. I knew he hadn't gotten a ring when he graduated from college. His college career was interrupted by World War II, then work and a family. He went back to school during his work career. I, at age fourteen, attended his college graduation. I suppose, with a family to support, he didn't think a college ring was important. He didn't order one. He never owned one. But no way would he believe that now, as a man in his late seventies with heavy-duty dementia. Normally, during his dementia, I just went along with whatever he thought. I knew in my gut, soon after surgery to drain fluid from his brain-damaged during the war backfired, leaving him with a voice in his head and severe dementia. that trying to argue dad back into what most of us call the "real world" was not only senseless but cruel. During his worst times, it seemed like unreasonable torture to disagree with him...

Continue reading on HealthCentral for more about how we can smooth the bumps in the road for our loved ones with dementia by joining them where they are: 

Support a caregiver or jump-start discussion in support groups with real stories - for bulk orders of Minding Our Elders e-mail Carol  

Discover the Difference. EGOSAN - the Top-Rated incontinence brand from Italy. Now Available on Amazon.