My live-in-the-basement MIL has mild dementia,

[ginnyinWI]

22. It's like the person is sliding down a hill,

And family members are hanging on, trying to slow down the slide. It's all you can really do. Get financial power of attorney, and health power of attorney when you need them. No more credit cards. Pay her bills for her and/or get them set up on auto pay.

In general, when they come up with strange notions, don't argue with them. Just humor them along, making jokes about it and smiling where appropriate. It only stresses them out to feel like they are losing it, even though it may be true.

When there is "nobody home" in the mind, there isn't a gatekeeper to tell you what might be wrong with her physically, whether it is an infection or a pain. You need to watch carefully for physical ailments because they can go unnoticed.

That said, the medical community will act like the person is going to live on for decades and want to continue routine treatments. They had me bringing my mom to the eye doctor for eye treatments, when she was really too sick to go to their office, and was actually only a few months away from passing away. Same with the dentist. It it hard do know what to do, but remember that you can say no to something like a dental cleaning when it is clearly very stressful and not really worth it. I should have said no to those.

Find out what she likes best, whether a certain food or a game or activity and make sure she gets them. I regret not taking more time to pamper my mother during her last months. There comes a time when you can forget about cholesterol or whatever and just let them enjoy their last months.