Reading your piece brought back memories of my paternal grandma who was diagnosed with "hardening of the arteries" around 1970.

She came to live with us and then

"escaped" and hitchhiked to the beach about 20 miles away. She was missing for about 3 days.

Then she ended up in a "home" which was horrible.

She went from the sweet little Jewish grandma to swearing to not talking at all for years.

I'm sorry for your experiences, too.