Caregiving the Final Year

I had discussed the options of nursing home care and in-home Hospice care with a counselor at the Alzheimer's Association. I decided on Hospice. My husband could stay at home and since I could resign from my jobs substituting in public schools it was THE solution, rather than a nursing home. It was most comforting to have hubby at our home, as his decline was very rapid as chronicled on this blog.

NOT WALKING. A year ago hubby woke up not being able to walk. He hadn't fallen and I thought it was that arthritis and not a broken leg. A knee brace had been used for a time.  However, in hindsight, his not walking was all about dementia and the plaques and tangles taking over another part of the brain. Our chiropractor gave him increased mobility, but in the end that part of his brain that enabled walking didn't work.

I realize that not everyone is able to keep the loved one at home, but someone has to live with them.  Some dementia patients are difficult to handle because they are angry and their filters for normal social behavior are missing.  Or some wander away from home.  Some turn the stove on and forget they did that and risk burning the house down. My husband didn't cook in the past few years and didn't wander. My husband relished being "normal" and I treated him normally as my loving husband, learning to talk simply to him and always saying "I love you" at least once a day. It worked for us. He had a good disposition and just loved watching TV and enjoying his DVD collection. We both loved our home. I would keep busy, but not really concentrate on the TV he was watching.

Hubby in hospital bed at left;
dog Ziggy on my twin bed. 

HOSPICE decision. We took out the king-sized bed in the master bedroom, the Hospice hospital bed was moved in and I slept by hubby in a twin bed pictured. Our dog Ziggy moved between our beds. I learned from Hospice that hospital gowns at home are made by cutting the back of a T-shirt up the middle but not through the top ribbing so they would stay on; this made it easy to change their top. By this time my husband was bedridden and using adult diapers.

Handy dining room cart moved to bedroom

TV, bomb box and cart for supplies

Hospice needs a station to do their work. I used a cart from the dining area and moved it to our bedroom. The "Depends" type products were stored on a chest nearby. Near the end of Hospice, a Home Health Care Aid came every day and I actually learned to change my husband's diapers and he never got a rash. The nurse who came when he died noted that he had been well cared for. He was loved and made to feel normal.

My dear husband knew he was dying and told Kenny he was ready to stay in bed -- he had had enough of moving from the Geri chair to the bed. He would tell Kenny things that he didn't tell me, because he needed to feel normal around me I think. Kenny was his buddy--not a volunteer caregiver in my husband's mind.

I believe that Hospice in the home is a great way to take care of our loved ones. They are most comfortable at home. Look at this wheel with all the services Hospice provides.

Support groups and other help. An Alzheimer's Association support group is most helpful. We caregivers need support. We HAVE to get respite. People were always with my husband when Hospice was called in. I went to the grocery store when the Home Health Care Aid came, and went to church when someone was here. For months I had been contracted to teach three classes and someone was with my hubby for many hours those three days. I had to ask for that help from friends.

When hubby went downhill I started taking 10 MG of the antidepressant Paxil that I will get weaned off of hopefully when I see my doctor in September. I tried to stop because it is non-habit forming, but that was a mistake and I needed them to maintain my hormone levels and an acceptable mood. Then l read where you need to get off Paxil slowly. I have had two counseling sessions--one with the Alzheimer's Association and one with Hospice. Neither of these appointments cost me a dime. Both counselors also advised me to taper off of Paxil slowly.

TAKING CARE OF ME.  Many caregivers pass away before their loved one dies because of the stress perhaps--maybe 60% I have read somewhere. The grief added to years of caregiving can take a heavy toll. I am finally taking care of me. I went to the dentist this week and before my hubby died I had someone at the house so I could keep my mammogram appointment that had been scheduled for a long time. I am going to Weight Watchers again--glad that I didn't gain all the weight back that I lost in 2012. I think some of my gaining back weight was that ice cream that hubby and I enjoyed together--one of the last things he would eat. I have not had ice cream since he died--it would cause a grief burst to have ice cream.

I am both relieved and grieving and need more sleep--even dog Ziggy needs more sleep.  I am trying to get out and about and do things that bring joy to my life. I am discovering what works for me, glad that I can still do things.

I am going to a grief support group. Hospice has them, but I am going to a thirteen-week grief group with my friend Sally at her church. We are using Grief Share: Your Journey From Mourning to Joy, published by Church Initiative, P. O. Box 1739, Wake Forest, NC 27588. It has a manual with homework and also a video that the facilitators play in class. Tonight is my second session.

Today I go vote and I am less prepared to vote than I have been in the past. I started to watch the Emmy's last night and realized that I did not know these TV programs up for nomination.

THIS BLOG WILL CONTINUE.  Stay tuned. I am writing a seminary counseling dissertation on dementia caregiving and then finding a publisher for the popular version of that manuscript.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning 

and clothed me with joy,

that I might sing praises to you 

and not be silent.

O LORD my God,

I will give you thanks forever. 

Psalm 30:11-12 New Living Translation