@wonton_sarah I had to take care of my dad who had vascular dementia. He couldn't hold a genuine conversation for probably more than a year before he died and when the face droops and blank stare started there was still a bunch of time left.
@smallunnaturals I found new cousins in Slovakia. I actually had photos of these people because my grandfather communicated with someone there in the 60s (it was a picture of a family skiing). They were not impressed and kinda seemed Nazi-ish.