Someone who has an illness that causes dementia may forget that a person she once knew has died. She may say, “My mother is coming for me,” or she may say that she has been visiting with her grandmother. Perhaps her memory of the person is stronger than her memory of the death. Perhaps in her mind the past has become the present. Instead of either contradicting her or playing along with her, try responding to her general feelings of loss, if you feel that this is what she is expressing.
