Paul Not a covid thread , and I don't want this to go there.
I am seeing the toll however of basically 20 months of greater isolation on my grandmothers memory health.

we were able to get my 2 grandmothers to my parents for thanksgiving yesterday both my grandfathers have passed 10 and 2 years ago both at 84

I will just refer to hem as Grandma D for my dads mother and Grandma M for my Moms mother.

GD is 93 grandpa D passed 10 years ago after that she moved out of the house to a senior apartment complex and socialized a lot still drove till 2018

GM is 86 and grandpa M passed in 2019

GM was already having memory issues dating back to about 2015 we helped Grandma and grandpa M to the same senior apartment complex as Grandma D in 2018 and Grandma M still lives in that apartment by her self , she still sews , and cooks and keeps house all those old memories and tasks are still cemented in her mind.
she has given up writing her last remaining check her rent bill always the same and always due the 1st she just got more and more frustrated with it , my mom handles all her bills , takes her to DR appointments and my uncle takes here to church and comes over regular even during lockdowns and they would watch church on TV.

Grandma D was sharp mentally I visited with her in her apartment at the assisted living home in January of 2020 she was telling me about jobs she had right out of high school the time lines all lined up with lots of detail.
GD was doing very well physically for a 90 year old when she fell and broke her hip. they repaired it and she got back to walking with a walker ,but spends most of here time in a wheel chair now , she can get in and out of the wheel chair to use the bathroom and get in and out of the mini van front seat when picked up for outings, my dad built a portable ramp that fits the one step at his house and the one step at my uncles house to get in.

we picked up GD about 12:30 yesterday and had her back to her apartment about 5 you could tell she was getting quite tired and struggled getting out of the chair more. she had a good time , she forgot my wife's name , she was struggling so much more for words and memories. couldn't remember how long it had been since Grandpa had died.

I had seen GD in June and she seemed sharper than than yesterday , she also is getting less active.



GM is physically very good at 86 walks and very steady on her feet , but some what like a child in the mind last month at my Aunts Memorial service she forgot who my brother was. my mom helps her out a lot with setting up who people are going into a conversation reminding her and she then seems better for that conversation.

my mother calls her every day 9 months of the year is there 2-3 days a week , her brother does more those 3 months my parents take a break and do some traveling
they call and have a video chat tablet set up at her apartment so mom can check on her every day
grandma M knows where her apartment is and has no trouble finding it in the building and so far wandering hasn't been any issue

at the memorial service my Moms youngest sister and her husband who live out of town stayed at Grandma's and brought her to the memorial , she gets out of the car and says , there is a man staying at my apartment to my mother , yes , my Aunts husband was in fact staying there , with my Aunt


I spent last weekend with GD's little sister my great Aunt , she is doing very well at 86 their younger brother died of cancer in 2019. helped my great Aunt move form her house to he daughters Monday she spends the winter with her daughter and has a niece and nephew just down the street this way she doesn't have to deal with snow in her house in the woods. she struggles a little for words some times but is still very sharp in her memories . still driving in her small township but no further. on the computer and keeps up with people on facebook. her older sister my GD was my first facebook friend and the reason I don't leave FB that and that is how I keep in touch with a bunch of cousins.GD has a computer yet but doesn't seem to hardly get on it any more.



well there are my observations

I hope you all had a good holiday with family
keep visiting them as often as you can , it means the world to them and it really is good for their health to get out regular and talk with people regular

Old folks need to keep their minds busy, and thats much harder to do without other people around to interact with.

My mother is in same boat. Two schools of thought. One is to keep her isolated and protected. Other is there are worse things than getting sick and dying. I was in first camp........coming around and warming up to the second. Nobody gets out alive, so why make them suffer at the end. Don't worry......be happy.

they have lessened the restrictions on the assisted living facility.

summer of 2020 they had tents on the law outside and you could schedule an hour time slot for a 45 minute visit , they would bring your relative out and they were on one side of the tent and you had to stay on the other.

GD has told dad , she is ready to go any time , but will make the best of it as long as it lasts

Sorry to hear about the toll on your family Pete. Its hard watching the decline for sure and isolation sure isn't helping. Sometimes we notice more with more time between visits.

true , mom and dad visit every week and have have been seeing the decline depending how grandma M keeps doing she might move to the same place as grandma D

The LORDS blessings to you for helping your elders.

X2.

Sounds like they are all doing great for their age.
Vast majority dont make it to 90.

very true and I am very lucky to have them still.

they both have a family history of late 80s and early 90s