My Dad was diagnosed with vascular Dementia, by 2011 in June, the illness had progressed so advanced that the only option we had was to place Dad in a nursing home.Mum had looked after our Dad for many many years but now this illness was claiming him he started getting beyond our help and it wasnt safe anymore. It broke all our hearts that day when they moved him, we had gone earlier in that week to make the room as much like home as we could and luckily for us ddad thought it was just a hospital to recover in rather than a home to stay in.By the time I was due to get married (we did offer to delay this) my Dad was to confused to attend. that is something I will never forgive myself for, I hate looking at our wedding photos as in some there is a very obvious space which should be filled.My mum attended as did frinds and family. My sister stood in for my dad and gave me away.I walked down the aisle sobbing and trying to smile but it was a day that had so much happiness and sadness attached.we used to go and visit dad all the time and take him down the town when he was well enough, sadly as much as we loved him we couldnt make him stay with us. Dad was slowly dissapearing before our eyes and being replaced by a man who sometimes didnt know us,sometimes forgot how to eat,drink,walk or help with any personal hygene. He would make us laugh now and then by sitting there with his finger up his nose pulling silly faces and babbling away in his own language. by the beginning of dec 2011 dad was fighting pneumonia and on the 10th dec he sadly took his last breath with us around him holding him and telling him how much we loved him. We spent some time with him after the time had came and then we went back to mum's, NEVER has a home felt so empty with a chair that looked so big where Dad used to sit. A piece of all of us went with dad that day never to return until we meet up again. xx