Welcome to Litsy!

How do I connect with my wife and get her to connect with me? This is always a constant desperation on my part especially because she doesn't speak. I am always afraid she will stop connecting with me, especially when I get that blank look, that "daze into no man's land. "That is the day I am trying to avoid. There are different things I do, depending on the moment and situation we are in, always taking every opportunity I can to promote interaction with her.
Many times I wonder what she is thinking or what her feelings are because now she doesn't speak at all. I only have her facial expressions or sounds. Is she happy? Is she sad? I never see sad expressions on her face so I never know if she is sad. I do see a straight face sometimes and when I do I try to provoke a smile or laughter just to be sure she is not sad. Does she know she is not well? Does she know how she was before? Does she remember her past? What I do to help her restore her past.
Then I realized "what about us", our 43 years of marriage, does she remember that past? She recognizes and knows me well but how far back? Did our marriage begin in 1979 or 2017 when she was diagnosed?
I wasn't sure where I was in her memory or how she sees me, as her friend or husband so I felt I had to make sure she realized I was at least her “best friend.” She frequently shows her affection by kissing a lot but I am still not sure how she sees me.
She doesn't speak at all. She expresses only some sounds and shows a lot of anxiety. This becomes a real challenge trying to figure out what she wants and how she feels. How do we communicate? How do I talk to her? How does she tell me what she wants or needs? We both learned how to interact with each other.