We tend to pass off dementia as the disease that causes people to “be forgetful.” Youtuber Joey Daley proves that it is much more than that.
Joey Daley, 45, from Ohio has created a YouTube channel to show the devastation this disease can cause to an entire family.
Molly, 67, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia at the age of 65. As of now, she lives in an assisted living facility where someone takes care of her meals, gives her medicine, bathes her, and does everything that she once did by herself.
“Dementia, if you can visualize it-write down everything you can do on a chalkboard, and every couple months, erase one thing until you slowly forget how to do everything you’ve done your whole life.” explains Joe. “Get dressed, get a cup of water-the simplest things you forget.”
As a YouTuber, Joe has a series where he takes his mom out a couple of times a week and does normal things with her. The videos are intended to shed light on the disease in general and to inspire and educate others about its debilitating effects.
Joe took his mother to the mall one day. Molly began the day in good spirits, but her mind betrayed her, and she became confused.Joey, for the first time, was faced with the devastating reality that his mom no longer knows who he is, or that she is his mother.
Joe and his mother are drinking coffee together in this 26-minute video. About eight minutes into the video, Joe begins to ask her questions about the family, and she fights back tears as she tries to understand what he’s saying. Joe watches as his mother forgets who he is during this conversation.
Joe reassured his mother that everything is fine, he’s just upset about something that happened at work.
When bringing her back to the nursing home, he grabs the photos hanging on her wall, and pushes one more time to see if he can trigger her memory. Molly knows the names of almost everyone in the photos—her children and grandchildren—but can’t tell Joe her relationship to any of them. She’s unable to recognize that Joe—the man standing in front of her—is the same person in the very last picture she’s holding.
When getting back in his car, Joe completely breaks down on camera saying, “Worst day of my life. She knows my name, but not who I am…I feel like she just d.ie.d.”
Trying to make sense of everything he just experienced, he says, “I thought this would come much later, when she couldn’t talk.”. Trying to make sense of it all, he says, “I just want to ask her one more time, ‘Who are you?’’’’
Have her say, ‘My son.’”
I feel for you – I’m from Findlay, and we went through this same type of dementia with my mother in Findlay. Dad was very wonderful in his care of Mom. Stayed with her and cared for her to the end. Dastardly disease.