The wife of country singer Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams, has written publicly for the first time about her personal struggles dealing with her mother's dementia, first diagnosed at the age of 61. Williams-Paisley explains in "How I Faced My Mother's Dementia" that it has been an agonizing process to watch a woman she knew as passionate and full of joy become transformed into a stranger. The dementia, Williams-Paisley reports, got so advanced that her mother no longer knew how to spell common words or would order nacho chips rather than coffee when visiting Starbucks.

“I've watched a passionately joyful woman, a devoted mother, an engaged listener and friend deteriorate and transform into someone almost unrecognizable. It's been agonizing to slowly lose her,” Williams-Paisley, who is married to country music star Brad Paisley wrote in “How I Faced My Mother's Dementia.”

Williams-Paisley recounts many visits to the nearest hospital emergency room along with the heart-wrenching decision to finally place her mother in long-term care, even though spending time with the Paisley's first born did bring her noticeable joy. Paisley-Williams says that learning to love the new woman her mother is, in the innocent way her son Huck does, has proven to be a very valuable coping mechanism for her and the entire family. Paisley is no longer surprised to not have her mother remember who she is during a visit simply because Paisley leaves her bedside for a moment to grab mom a glass of juice.

On The Web:
How Kimberly Williams-Paisley Learned to Love Again Facing Mother's Dementia
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/kimberly-williams-paisley-learned-love-facing-mothers-dementia/story?id=22399125