A little before the events surrounding our efforts to get Dad to take Aricept, I had come home, around the Christmas holidays as I recall. Mom was having serious problems with Dad wanting to get up in the night and start to wander, even catching him outside about 4am at one point. Needless to say these were very distressing times for her.
One event impressed on my own mind the seriousness of the circumstances that had befallen Dad, even though objectively other events probably should be given greater import. I guess it was just the shock value that hit me.
One morning during this visit, I had awakened early and was reading the newspaper in our family room. Mom awakened shortly after and came in with a cup of coffee. I could hear Dad running the water in the bathroom and the other usual morning sounds. I was heading down the hallway toward my bedroom and encountered Dad turning the corner from the master bedroom into the hall.  He was fully dressed but had made one remarkable error–his underwear briefs were on the outside of his long pants! He seemed a little embarrassed; I think he knew that he probably was not dressed properly, but he wasn’t quite sure where the problem was. I was shocked; this was one of the first instances when his confusion had been expressed in such a clear and obvious manner. I was also quite sad and at the same time felt a lot of love for him. Even in these most difficult circumstances, he was trying his best to do it on his own.