Tripped Up by Nouns; Another UTI

If you don't know what a noun is, see this link HERE. Or just click on here because it is fun.

I read that the nouns are the first to go with Alzheimer's patients. Now my husband's nouns, or names for things, are leaving his vocabulary. For example, when he was not walking, he asked me to write "urinal" on that thing he called a "pee jar". When I ask him to put his seat belt on in the car, it pushes the door button down. He doesn't understand the word underpants.

Tuesday he didn't understand get in the car in the garage. I came in the front door from turning off a light on the front porch and he thought that garage was out the front door. He lost his balance and fell on his right side--the side with that knee he had been having trouble with. He was tripped up by the noun "garage". He said he was fine. He sat Indian fashion on the rug. I told hubby to just sit and I would go get help to get him up from the carpet.

At the chiropractor's office

Tuesday is the day the husbands go to the Senior Center and I took a turn to take Jake and hubby to the Senior Center so that Sally could get to her appointments.  I went to get Jake at his house, a mile and a half away. Back at our house DH would not let me help him get up--Jake was ok. I called Kenny and he came over and Kenny and Jake got hubby up just in time for his 9:30 chiropractic appointment. Dr. R. said that I got him here in time to help with that problem knee. He is able to walk. But more is going on.

We happened to be at the chiropractor's office for quite some time after Dr. R. gave hubby his treatment. Kenny doesn't give hubby his pills on Tuesdays and in order to get to the appointment in time, we took the pills with us.   It was patient appreciation week and they had fruit, rolls, coffee, etc. Jake and I waited and waited in the chiropractor's office for hubby to take his pills.  Finally Donna in the office there came over and coached hubby in taking his pills and we were able to leave at 11:15. I dropped Jake and hubby off at the Plant City Senior Center, hubby going in with his walker.

Sally and I went to our monthly Tuesday Alzheimer's Association support group at First Baptist at 2 pm and then we both picked up our husbands at about 3:30.

When we got home, hubby was walking fairly well thanks to the chiropractor. However,  I knew we were in trouble. Hubby headed for the bedroom and laid down. I gave hubby his coconut oil chocolate in bed and it took until 7 pm for me to coax hubby into coming to the family room for his dinner. I think that coconut oil helped revive him.

We have been fighting some infections recently. I had an upper respiratory infection a month ago and hubby had bronchitis. But with antibiotics we were both over those illnesses. Kenny suspected a UTI on Saturday and Tuesday with all the behavior I also suspected another UTI, as hubby was not drinking enough liquid lately and he was not himself. Yesterday's stubbornness was one precursor of the UTI. Confusion also is an indication, although you don't know if it is just an Alzheimer's patient continuing to go down hill. He started to put his underpants over his head yesterday morning, obviously confused.

I was able at 4 am this morning to have hubby pee in his pee jar or urinal. I put a UTI test strip into that pee and it registered positive. I canceled my substitute job for the day so we could go to the doctor for medicine. I put that pee jar into the refrigerator to bring to the doctor. Kenny was on his volunteer duty and he came over to take meds with hubby.

The test strips and the pee jar certainly helped. The doctor's office will test the pee, but in the meanwhile did give him that same prescription he had last time. Will report back to you how he does.