This year, her 90-year-old mother-in-law married in a fishing village in Goseong, Gangwon-do, gave birth to five siblings, and became alone after her bereavement 40 years ago. It was 10 years ago that my mother-in-law, who was living alone in the countryside after spending a hectic life raising five siblings, left her children one by one to the city.

After about 10 years of dementia, the youngest son, who was happy with it, has been delaying going to see his mother these days. This is because dementia is not completely cured and can get worse several times, but every time I see it, it causes new shocks and wounds. The five children are now battling their mother’s dementia.

'Is my parents dementia?' denial eventually led to dementia

It was 10 years ago that my mother, who usually didn't contact me because she was afraid to interfere with her children's work, became more frequent. It was around the age of 80. At that time, my mother was worried that the name of the house she was living in was suddenly changed to someone else.

children were just anxious to reassure their mother because they thought she was getting older and worried. However, the anxiety that the house was about to be taken away turned into a strong will not to be taken away, leading to the act of shouting and angry at the neighbors in the neighborhood. It didn't take long to lead to anxiety, obsession and anger, and eventually, there were complaints from neighbors asking to stop their mother.

Admit it quickly and start treatment quickly

When I went to the

hospital, various tests were conducted to diagnose dementia. The cognitive function test, which included light questions such as the patient’s age and name and memory tests, was the start. The family hoped that the mother was not dementia, and rather emphasized normal behavior to the doctor than symptoms of dementia.

The

question was getting more difficult, but she answered well, and each time we were happy as if we were passing a quiz show. The doctor finished the test by saying let’s wait and see. I regret that I was relieved at that time. He should have been diagnosed with additional tests as soon as possible and started treatment. Perhaps due to the delay in the initial diagnosis, the mother was diagnosed with mild dementia at the time, but soon began to show symptoms of severe dementia.

From nursing care to nursing care supplies, 5 siblings are about to get dementia insurance

dementia treatment has begun. In fact, taking the prescribed medication is all about the treatment. In the case of the mother, it cost about 100,000 won for each prescription. The cost of nursing care was more important than the cost of medicine. These days, there are dementia prevention programs and various care services conducted by the state and local governments, but there are cases where even small rural villages do not benefit.

Since

children are scattered, it was practically difficult to take care of their mother while taking care of her. Even because the mother was particularly obsessed with the house, her obsession grew as dementia progressed, so she could not even try to leave the house and get treatment. In the end, all the children could do was to set a duty and visit every weekend with a week’s worth of food, clean and wash, and return.

But even that couldn't be long. Everything was a mess in a week. The side dishes I brought for my mother were often moldy, and the house was full of dust. I couldn't think of it as a house that my mother had swept and cleaned all her life. In the end, I applied for a visiting care service in the hope that you would eat properly. The cost of visiting caregivers differed depending on the scope of the work in charge and working hours.

In the case of the

mother, it cost an average of 1.2 million won a month, but as a joke, one of the children said it. “My mother gave birth to many children instead of dementia insurance.” In fact, everyone had no dementia insurance these days, so all the expenses, including nursing expenses, were borne by their children, but they were able to endure it because the five siblings shared the cost. As such, her mother spent another seven years in the house she loved and liked so much with a visiting nurse.

Dementia Care, it's not over until it's over

The notification of the visiting caregiver that "home care is no longer difficult" was more disastrous than when he was first diagnosed with dementia by a doctor. Eventually, her mother left Gangwon-do, where she lived her whole life, and was admitted to a nursing hospital in Gyeonggi-do. In terms of cost, nursing hospitals were much less burdensome than visiting caregivers.

The Health Insurance Corporation pays most of the money with

long-term care benefits, and the out-of-pocket cost was about 600,000 won, including meals and snacks, which is less than half the cost compared to when serving at home. However, from the family’s point of view, it is never easy to choose a nursing hospital to save money for treatment. Even if parents go to a nursing hospital first, they constantly ask themselves if it is best for their children.

Mother still didn't want to leave home, so the process of taking her to the hospital was difficult, but life in a nursing hospital is like walking on thin ice every day. I get a call from the hospital day by day. "He doesn't want to take a bath," "I won't let you into the room," "I'm going to pack up and leave because I'm going home," "Open someone else's drawer and take out all my clothes," etc.

Whenever I went to a

visit, the symptoms worsened rapidly, and the mother, who had lived for her child all her life, now couldn’t remember any of the five siblings. Ten years on, the fight against dementia still continues. There is a heavy and sad but too important realization that a mother informs her child in the memory and energy of losing. Dementia is a battle between the mind and the cost of medical care. In particular, if the medical expenses are not prepared, it is painful for everyone. You should also work hard to prevent dementia and prepare for treatment costs through dementia insurance. Dementia can always come to our lives.

After 10 years of caring for dementia patients

Became a Dementia Family and I found out why people are interested in dementia insurance. That's why all the brothers signed up for dementia insurance. In fact, since dementia is not a sick disease, it is said that dementia rarely shortens its lifespan directly.

So dementia insurance should be subscribed based on how long the long-term care expenses can be covered every month rather than being covered by a large amount of medical expenses like cancer insurance. In addition, it is better to focus on severe dementia coverage rather than mild dementia because it is not completely cured by treatment such as surgery, but only gets worse once the symptoms begin.