How a Dementia Brain Is Working Now

• Hubby thinks he needs extra protection. I had a police officer talk with him and then he stopped  this obsession.
• He tells the waitress that the same couple sat there three days in a row; waitress didn't verify and of course it wasn't true. 
• He believes that he has been in his new doctor's office before, whereas I know he hasn't. 
• Recently he called me mommy and said he was sad because I was up early and wasn't going back to bed. That was only once and I do hope he meant that I "mother" our dog. We go to bed so early and I am an early riser now. Early morning I can write better than late at night. 
• He confused sisters and wives. He thought he had three sisters. He still knows I am his wife and that he has two adult children with his first wife. He feels related to relatives that call or that he sees often. 
• He has difficulty understanding why he hobbles when he walks. He tells someone it originally was a military injury, but I have never heard that before. 
• DH thinks a barber shaved his head, but his thin hair was always sticking out and I was the one to give him that bald look with a trimmer. 
• He is increasingly stubborn. The shave is easier, but not always his shower for me; when Kenny is sick as he has been lately, it is my turn to get the shave and shower done. Sunday morning Kenny surprised us and VERY SMOOTHLY took pills with my husband. This is their "pill pippin' buddies" routine where Kenny takes his pills at the same time. Then Kenny easily gets my husband into the master bath for a shave and shower. He has the touch. I appear to be the nag for my stubborn husband. 
• He forgets that we have a different car that we purchased last month. 
• He asks where we live and how we came to live in our home. 
• He can't keep track of relatives he doesn't see often. I have too many relatives, he says. Have I really been married three times? 
• How remote controls work and how to put in his false teeth are starting to be a concern for my husband. 

I adjust to what he says and does and do not argue with him. I am rejoicing that I have hubby walking and still at home. 

We changed health insurance in 2014 because I felt there are more benefits for my husband's dementia situation. Monday the new doctor asked hubby to take off his shoes so he could inspect his feet since hubby is a type-two diabetic. I was impressed. Previous doctors have not done that. I told the new doctor how, since anesthesia makes the Alzheimer's worse, we have avoided surgery  on my husband's knee and how the chiropractor has helped him. Even though admittedly husband is in a middle stage of dementia and losing memory and function after five years, the doctor felt that he should continue the Exelon patch and of course Namenda. 

Me: Did I put your patch on this morning?

Hubby: You must have because I am not leaking anywhere! 

Signs of Memory Loss and a "Normal" Day

I again taught a class for first-time DUI offenders yesterday, Saturday. This second day of the class they read their essay on how their DUI is a wake-up call for a new life. Saturday I heard essays about going back to their Christian faith from three gentlemen. Dramatic things happen to cause us to cry out to God, as I often do on my caregivng/lovegiving journey. See here.

Early in the DUI class I share a picture of an old couple who were hit by a DUI driver two years ago here and talk about all the trouble they had. We get to the point in this 12 hour class of accepting the DUI and of moving on to never ever get a second DUI and then I remark that we are that couple in the picture, a couple who are grateful to be alive. It is very effective when these students equate us with that old couple and the motivation then is high to work to never get another DUI--so easy in our society with all our bars and cars. I often parallel my accepting my husband's dementia with my students accepting their DUI and moving on to never get another DUI. Life doesn't give us some choices.

Hubby had not taken his morning pills before I left to teach. I called when I got to the class and reminded him. Then I called two more times on breaks from the class. Finally I said, "You take your pills while I am on the phone" and he did just that. I reminded him about his lunch in the refrigerator. It is always the same so that he will recognize it: sandwich, yogurt and two coconut chocolate fudge pieces on a dinner plate.

When I returned home about four, he had not eaten his lunch, but had gotten ready to go out. No more jeans or T-shirt, but a nice button down shirt, slacks and better shoes. He likes to dress up to go out. He remembered that!

We left for the Tampa area and I used the GPS to check on where my appointment for hearing aids would be. All during the trip he kept asking what is the next thing we are doing, but was very happy to be out and about. We went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, a healthy buffet place. DH ate fairly well there and thoughtfully reminded me to leave a tip on the table.

"What's next?" he wanted to know, although the plans to see the  movie "Lincoln" had been made that morning. Hubby likes history so I thought this would work. The movie was great, but he didn't follow all the nuances of the characters and great acting. He said simply, "I didn't care for it."  Fortunately he wasn't agitated about sitting through the movie.

Because he doesn't eat lunch many days, he will need more supervision and the Plant City Adult Day Care Sally and I are trying out for our husbands seems just the ticket at this stage. He will get a hot lunch there and be with his friend Jake. Hubby will often ask,  "When's the next time I see Jake" and it's good for our husbands to be together which we are planning at that center.

So I move through our days accommodating hubby's memory losses and trying to hold on to the life we have. Normal? We have a calm relationship and he trusts me. It's 5 AM and I am going back to bed. Looking forward to our Sunday, today, with worship and fellowship.

Here is a good Assessment for memory loss.

Short Hospital Stay of Caregiver

I had a short hospital stay Friday morning through Sunday afternoon. It certainly wasn't planned that I be taken to the hospital and leave my caregiving responsibilities.

So what happened to me you ask? Hubby is still able to stay home by himself and I set out Friday to substitute teach. On the way I realized very suddenly that I needed to vomit. I pulled over to a Ford dealership and upchucked, hoping that was the end of it. Not to be. I arrived at the school and vomited in the parking lot. I got up a little strength to walk with my purse into the office and say I was sick and couldn't sub. I headed for the staff women's bathroom. My stay in that bathroom included vomiting and passing out. I found myself on the floor with a headache and realized I might have a concusion. I got myself up and the room was spinning. After a bit I opened the door and said I needed a nurse. The nurse called 911 and I was on my way to the hospital in an ambulance. Needless to say, I didn't care at all whether school kept of not! But I did care about my husband and in my weakened state told people "I am an Alzheimer's caregiver". By Friday afternoon I was out of ER, had a room and Friday night I knew I was on my way to recovery, including eating dinner. Nurse assistant DaDine thoughtfully gets an iPhone charger for my cell while I slept Friday night; this had to be borrowed from staff who worked at night and loaned it to me for several hours.

I had not purchased a bracelet that says I am an Alzheimer's caregiver.  (I have seen these, but hadn't gotten around to ordering one). My husband has one that says he has memory issues and he wears it all the time.

HUGE THANKS to family. Hubby stayed with his daughter. The step-daughter, her husband and daughter graciously took on caregiving responsibilities including hosting both hubby and the dog during my hospital stay of over two days. Our car was retrieved from school.  Naughty dog Ziggy, however, taught the host dog how to chase their cat while he stayed there. 

Hubby's cell phone is misplaced again in the last 12 hours and he notices it early this morning.  He did use it to call me on my cell at the hospital. After the stabilizing me in ER, I went to a room where I was able to use my new iPhone to call him. Somehow he got through the short-term memory problem and was able to visit me in the hospital on Friday thanks to his ex taking him there. Saturday morning he woke me up at 6:15 AM on my recharged cell:  

Where are you?

At the hospital, Sweetheart!

Oh that's right!

Hubby had forgotten that he had seen me in the hospital on Friday. Our routines were disrupted. He called often during Saturday saying he missed me. I realize again how important that caregiver (me) is to the loved one. You are the one, even with other family around.

This morning early his cell phone is missing. He is very discombobulated that his cell phone is missing and wants to go get another one ASAP. This morning he is going over and over his loss and asking how many cell phones he has lost. How many cell phones has Ziggy taken? he asks. Coping is hard for the Alzheimer's loved one who is trying to hold on to reality.  That cell phone is a big issue this morning. I have him wait until 7 AM to call his daughter. Sure enough it was in a box with the dog food just where she said it was last night. I had not seen it the first time I unpacked his things.

So glad I can stay home today to get us both back to "normal" or "the new normal". But I do know that life will never be normal again. Just so thankful to the LORD that we are both home.  

Get those shots. Saturday night in the hospital I had my yearly influenza shot and got my pneumonia shot that all of us over 65 need to get. Perhaps my trip to the hospital could have been avoided had I received those shots. Why knows!  

Cuddos to Lakeland Regional Medical Center where my treatment was so excellent--doctors and nurses. I had a SYNCOPE and a SYNCOPE HYPOTHERMIA along with the vomiting. I was cold in ER! My white blood cells were elevated from vomiting and I was fighting something. Scans  revealed that there was no internal brain injury from the fall and no heart issues. My electrolites were off. I thought I had avoided treatment for GERD by watching what I ate carefully. But now I have a prescription for OMEPRAZOLE  to be taken for 30 days and I will take it. People with GERD should not be vomiting at all. It throws us off completely.   

Boredom sets in Saturday and Sunday. I was better. My charged cell phone helped entertain me on Saturday and dutifully I stayed in my room and interacted with my roommate. The sign on the TV said:

Thank you for remaining my your clinical area during your stay at Lakeland Regional, and allowing your health care providers to monitor your care and recovery. Leaving your clinical area for reasons outside your treatment is considered against medical advice and you may be discharged. Please help us to provide you with the best health care experience possible. Thank you.

I became stir crazy and wanted to get back to my husband and get him home. I walked the halls in "my clinical area". Through my iPhone I posted updates on my Facebook LIKE page for this blog during the day Saturday.  I entertained the troops with the two raps "Get Me Out of Class [the hospital]" and "Boredom Games" I deliver for good classes when I substitute teach.  I promised a few staff that  I would post those raps here and I dedicate them to those wonderful staff at the hospital we put smiles on each other's faces.

"Get Me Out of Class"

[the hospital]

Get me out of class
Gotta get a pass
I’m a student you can trust
Getting me out of class I must.
Let me get some water
I’m not your son or daughter
But I will be your teacher’s pet
I’ll always help you out
—you can bet
It’s right outside the class
Don’t have to write a pass
So let me get some water
(I will roam the school halls
Or maybe the nearby malls.)
But, oh no!
You don’t give water passes?

Hmm . . .
I have to pee can’t you see
But so much liquid I just bloat
And I have a doctor’s note
So much pee I may float.
I have to be a finder
I left my school binder
I left my purse
I have to see the nurse
Can I go to my locker?
(Really I want to play soccer
I want to go find that jerk)
Please --it’s just a little perk!

Get me out of class
Gotta get a pass!

"Boredom Games"

Paper toys

Boredom ploys

Sunflower seeds

Don’t want to read

Don’t want to heed

Or do a good deed

But a boredom game

May get me fame

Or bring me shame

Those boredom games.

Let me make a popper

Lots of ploys in the hopper

Shooting rubber bands

Making beats with hands

Let’s play football

Make it out of paper

Or fly a plane

Just a little caper

Chewing gum

Think I’ll hum

Or twiddle my thumb

Have a little gas

I can fart for a laugh

I’m not the only one

Who has to have a little fun

And my work is done

A boredom game

Won’t get me fame

Might bring me shame

Those boredom games.

God is good. Now where did I put MY glasses! Might be at Denny's where we had supper last night!

Saga Three

The garage sale was held Friday and Saturday. We raised just over $100 and I still have plenty to get rid of, to give away, to donate or to recycle. Sally and Jake came over to help. Sally and I  manned the sale and enjoyed chatting while DH and Jake enjoyed each other hanging out in the family room.

I came in to get coffee and was elsewhere in the house. DH called with a question.

"Just a minute, sweetheart," I said from the bathroom.  "I will be there."

When I came out to the family room, I asked "Now what was the question?"

"I forget now," said DH.

"I forgot too," said Jake with a smile on his face. Now I wonder how long it will be before both of our husbands recognize short-term memory, dementia or even Alzheimer's in their new friend!

Later a young couple came over and the men were put to work loading up a love seat in my husband's trailer. The young man, DH and Jake took off with my husband driving. (He really is a good driver and did pass that test.)

Later when the three men returned,  I asked the young man how the trip was driving the new furniture to his apartment with two Alzheimer's patients. He said they kept asking him what he did for a living and he kept telling DH and Jake again and  again. I am so glad he was patient.

Come by right away if you are interested in something for free before the stuff disappears from the garage. I want to be able to park in the garage again because it is getting colder. On to more household organization and perhaps another garage sale in the spring.

I commented on the Alzheimer's Weekly link above after Dr. Newport. There is a discussion of coconut oil there.

Humor

We couldn't remember if we had given thanks for breakfast. We laughed and Sweetheart prayed for the first or second time.

We laughed at this joke this morning when I found it on my computer. My husband reminded me that I had shared it with him before!

A couple is having problems remembering things. During a checkup, the doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember.

Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. "Want anything while I'm in the kitchen?" he asks.

"Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?"

"Sure."

"Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?" she asks.

"No, I can remember it."

"Well, I'd like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so's not to forget it?"

He says, "I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries."

"I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, write it down?" she asks.

Irritated, he says, "I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream - I got it, for goodness sake!" Then he toddles into the kitchen.

After about 20 minutes, The old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs.

She stares at the plate for a moment. "Where's my toast ?"

How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?

"Why isn't Ziggy at the window?" my husband asked as we came home tonight from having dinner at Buddy Freddy's Restaurant.

"Think about it," I said gently.

"Don't play games with me," he retorted.

Yes, Ziggy is usually at the window when we come home. He gets up on the table after jumping up on a chair, waiting for his masters to come home.

"Because Ziggy is in a cage," I answered not demanding he figure out the riddle with his short-term memory.

Earlier Ziggy had been a bad dog. My husband said he would be locked up for three days to teach this puppy a lesson. Simply he hadn't remembered the punishment and that he had given Ziggy.
How had Ziggy been bad? When I came home today from teaching a class for DUI offenders, I brought groceries. Currently I am not parking in the garage because the painter has supplies in the garage. I opened the garage door with my garage door opener and my husband thoughtfully helped me bring in groceries. Well, this was too much for puppy. He runs out the door my husband had opened and out the garage. I nearly slip trying to catch Ziggy who darts across the street to see the girl puppies next door to the horses. My husband runs across the street to get the wayward child and is furious that Ziggy would do such a thing.

"To teach Ziggy a lesson the dog will have to be locked up for three days," he proclaims. He will put him in the craft/guest bedroom.

"Sweetheart, there is too much in there for a year and a half puppy to get into. How about the guest bathroom?"

The bathroom it is until Ziggy starts scratching on the door.

"How about his cage?" Ziggy was put in the cage while we went to dinner.

And so hubby didn't remember why doggy wasn't at the window two hours later.

No, Ziggy didn't stay locked up for three days, but my husband felt like having him locked up three days and I certainly want to reinforce "come" when we say "come, Ziggy."

____________________

Dog Ziggy was in a canine St. Patrick's Day contest last Saturday. I made his costume with a machine embroidery rainbow spilling into an appliqued brown pot. Then I superglued pennies for the gold at the end of the rainbow. He didn't win, but thoroughly enjoyed all the attention and other dogs. He got out of his hat at the last minute when it was his time to parade across the stage and the hat hung around his neck. Next year he may have the luck of the Irish with more practice for him and for me working on a better hat.

_____________________

Meanwhile, it is I who needs the training in working with the hubby and the dog.