middleofnowhere
Registered
There have not been any updates on his facebook lately.
Any updates on Danny DiLiberto?
- Thread starter middleofnowhere
- Start date
middleofnowhere
Registered
A few hours ago on his facebook page
"Most of you know I took on being my dads full-time caregiver in July of last year. Nothing was easy. There were really great days and others were the worst you can get. Long days and nights! I put my absolute all into taking care of him. About 2 months ago he was complaining about his stomach hurting. I really didn't pay much mind to it because he has always had stomach problems but I wanted him to get checked out. I couldn't get him up into the wheelchair so, I called the ambulance. He was fine but they recommended some physical therapy. He was not walking at all and could barely sit up. He will never walk again unfortunately. He's not the same and dementia doesn't just go away, it gets worse. He would do things that were very unsafe for him and unlike himself. He remembers a lot but he gets really confused and lost. I will not tell anyone what he has actually had to go through. I have made the hard decision to have him move to a memory care facility where he is monitored 24/7. It was not an easy decision at all. It is a really nice facility where I can see him all the time. I am just not equipped for what he needs. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers! Remember all the great memories you had with him or of him!"
Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
This is one of the toughest things a family member has to make , it's never easy of pleasant even if it's in the best interest of the family member , I've gone through this very same thing with a close family member .
I worked in the area and would drive in 2 hours early just to go visit as often as possible , he enjoyed it even if he couldn't speak , I'd tell him about how this or that rodeo went even if it was on tv and how some of the contestants had been bucked off and thrown through the air and he'd start bouncing around in his wheel chair ! Even the nurse who was working at a near by desk would stop and listen and giggle at the story I was telling .
Sadly he's gone but when I visit his grave I still tell him a story about one of the rodeos I've worked or even watched on tv and I can still see in my minds eye him laughing .
I worked in the area and would drive in 2 hours early just to go visit as often as possible , he enjoyed it even if he couldn't speak , I'd tell him about how this or that rodeo went even if it was on tv and how some of the contestants had been bucked off and thrown through the air and he'd start bouncing around in his wheel chair ! Even the nurse who was working at a near by desk would stop and listen and giggle at the story I was telling .
Sadly he's gone but when I visit his grave I still tell him a story about one of the rodeos I've worked or even watched on tv and I can still see in my minds eye him laughing .
I kinda thought this was coming and now we know. She's doing saintly work taking care of her pop. Prayers and thoughts for her, Danny and family members.
I have had the experience as well. One thing I would mention for people who have not been faced with the issue is not to judge family members when they make the decision. Sometimes there seems to be a negative judgment, maybe I am wrong. Sometimes people who make the decision feel guilty. However, most people have no idea what caring for a dementia patient is like. I know I couldn’t. I know my family couldn’t do it in our home. Yes, there are things to help, but doing it full time…..
I don’t know how the nurses and staff in memory care do it. And they go home at the end of a shift.
One other thing I should mention. We discussed pool commentary recently. Danny’s name came up, on both sides of the coin. It may be that early stages of this affected his commentary. I am saying this because I personally thought a couple comments or attitudes from him in later matches maybe were a little harsh. When my family member was diagnosed we looked back on a couple of things and surmised that the dementia affected the comments/ behavior much earlier than the diagnosis. I am not a doctor etc…
no doubt imo his commentary deteriorated gradually. i still liked him, especially with billy. he was at his best pre ~2015.
my grandfather passed three days ago. he was healthy aside from his dementia, but the dementia likely caused him to not aknowledge/communicate that he had fallen and hit his head a month ago. the brain bleeding was a month old when he got to the hospital and nothing could be done. worked at a longwave/shortwave radio central for 45 years and every single one of his workmates got dementia.
This sounds so very familiar. I went through this with my father, exactly as you described. You did the right thing, and he's lucky to have you in his life to look out for him. Hang in there.
Watch what happens to all these kids who have a cell phone on them and at their ears 24/7. They may be babbling idiots later in life. I refuse to carry a cell with me everywhere I go!
One of my dearest friends for life! We didn’t always agree but he was always in my corner no matter what. No harm ever came to me when Danny was around.
They already are babbling idiots! I don't think anything will change.
Just saw this post. So sorry. My wife went thru this with her dad. Sad. Emotionally it’s like watching them die, which they do. She got some advice/conversation from a nurse friend who went thru the same. She said that alztheimers means your loved one dies twice, first with Alzheimer’s, the second when their body gives up. It was easier to accept that her dad was gone mentally and wasn’t coming back, so she could “visit” with new version of dad. And yes, he is better in memory care.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
A great loss to our community and his family and friends. God bless and hold them all. I have been known to rant and rave over the loss of our old school pool halls, but the loss of Danny DiLiberto, and classic folks like him, leave me at a loss for words. Certain people cannot be replaced.