Hospice

OH THIS IS SO HARD!  

I AM GRIEVING.

Hospice doesn't just have to be for the last days, but maybe for days like I am having near your loved one's end. Hubby can't walk. Can't get him showered. Incontinence. I solved one very small bed sore with Vaseline, but what if they return?

Every day lately there has been decline.  Yesterday when 2:30 rolled around and hubby was soaked with his own pee and I couldn't get him out of bed, I called Hospice. Matthew from Hospice was here at from 4 pm to 6:30 pm yesterday to interview me and see my husband. He even talked with Kenny on the phone. He qualified and we are enrolled.

Yesterday before Matthew from Hospice came,  I went briefly to town. I stopped at the Plant City Senior Center to sign two forms they had called me about. I cancelled my husband's coming there again today and said for the foreseeable future I couldn't see his coming there. I went to his doctor's office to deliver pee I had saved in the refrigerator in a plastic bag from before he took the antibiotics for the UTI. They wouldn't take it--wrong container. I threw it in the trash.

I texted my pastor and family members and several family have called. My pastor texted me last night that I had done the right thing. Brenda from TN and Sherry from my church emailed me this morning.  Ruby from Australia wrote on the last post. Thanks!

It turns out hubby has a new doctor now--a Hospice physician named Dr. Adria Stephens. Hospice will cover some meds but not all--no more Exelon Patch and Namenda. These preventative medicines weren't effective anyway at his stage. Hubby won't even remember about Hospice coming to the house yesterday afternoon.

Hospice evaluated him at stage 7c. There will be a team of people that come to the house. I look forward to meeting what they call Team Aqua. They will even send a chaplain. A nurse will come every four days. A Hospice aide will bathe him. They will provide him with a hospital bed when I say so and I will buy a single bed so I can sleep by him.

This morning I had to gently let my husband down to the floor in our bathroom because I couldn't get him a few more steps to the wheel chair outside the bathroom. I placed a pillow under his head.  One phone call this morning and I had the fire department that Hospice called help me get hubby to his wheel chair and ready for the day.

I reminisce below about the last times I have had with hubby as I have carefully kept this blog and evaluated my Facebook postings.  

• In December of 2008 when I started this blog my husband was diagnosed with dementia, the umbrella term for many conditions. He was officially diagnosed with Mixed Dementia in October of 2010 and the neurologist was surprised he still dressed himself and the Byrd Institute was surprised I was giving him coconut oil (now they have a study about it). 
• It has only been within the last year that I have been selecting his clothes and doing more of the dressing. Since Thursday when I cancelled substitute teaching, he has been wearing loose jogging pants and T-shirts which he can also wear to bed as PJ's. They have to be changed when he pees through them. 
• Camping has not happened since Memorial Day of 2012. My family provided a respite cruise for me in while hubby went to Virginia to stay with his son also in 2012. We also went to Virginia for Christmas of that year. 
• The last special dates were last month as recorded HERE—April 22 a concert and April 26 a b. d. party for two sibling dogs. 
• The last movie we saw together was "God Is Not Dead" on April 3rd in Lakeland. The last anniversary we celebrated was our 14th when we went to  Carrabba’s Italian Grill Restaurant in Plant City. 
• The last time we went the chiropractor and the last time we went to a restaurant was May 7th--last Wednesday. After the chiropractor, he hobbled into the restaurant and I couldn't see that going to the chiropractor who had been helping him was effective. A lady at the next table at Sony's BBQ told me that there are straps I could get to help me get hubby up from the table--check a medical supply place, she said. Hubby was just starting an antibiotic for a DUI, but walking was not to be. Every day since the walking has declined. He has finished the antibiotic as of this morning. 

She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. 

Proverbs 31:12 

I need Hospice to accomplish that verse. I hope to "do my hubby good", concentrating on what I can do and what he can do, enjoying his smile, humor and our love for each other with more time together than if he were in a nursing home wishing to come home. Already this morning we have told each other we love each other several times. With Hospice I can probably keep hubby home until [gasp] he dies and his soul is immediately with the LORD waiting the resurrection of the body when Christ returns. Hospice is a reminder of grief, but as a Christian I do not grieve without hope. But I am going to cry. 

Beginning of Stage Six

Even in laughter the 

heart may sorrow,

And the end of mirth 

may be grief.

Proverbs 14:13

I started noticing changes lately. Those outings we had in April, may be the last ones we have and that thought was in the back of my mind when we went to a show and to a party. Some of our usual routines are not working. I am showing signs of being stressed out by change (not sleeping as well) and hubby is definitely changing. It may not just be a UTI--my idea earlier in the week.  Rather hubby may be headed into stage 6 of dementia. Oh my goodness! I did not want this to happen. I am trying to have a normal week. 

Enroe from my church helped me on Tuesday, his day off and my day off from substituting. After I dropped off the GMC to have the air bag replaced for free because it was recalled, Enroe  drove me around all morning in his vehicle. We went to Social Security so I could order a replacement SS Card. We went to my husband's doctor's office to get a prescription for his suspected UTI, and we went to one bank. Then Enroe drove me to a Christian Women's Club lunch where I sat with my friend Sally. Ordinarily both of our husbands would be at the Senior Center, but my husband was in no shape to go. Jake has been at the Senior Center enough with my husband so Sally can leave him without a problem. Then Sally drove me to a bank and then to get my car. I went on to Lakeland Toyota to find out about a gap refund since I have refinanced the GMC. Ordinarily Kenny would drive me on such errands, but he is out of town. Tuesday I had to do it all and Tuesday night it was so hard to deal with hubby! 

With Kenny gone, I have been fixing hubby a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a croissant for lunch when I work. He loves it. My plan has been to not substitute on Tuesdays this May. I told myself it's just a UTI and he will get better. 

What do they say about the best laid plans!!!

Wednesday morning I woke up ready to give hubby his pills, get him dressed and wheel him in his wheel chair out by the TV. No way did this work as it usually does and I had to call the school to say I would be late. I just could not hurry hubby up. He had only had his second antibiotic pill for the UTI. To top off everything, the sheets and mattress pad were wet!  I decided to not substitute for a few days, maybe until Kenny is back in town. Yes, we need the money, but the LORD has always provided and He can do it again. 

What is happening? 

1. I have to stop my busyness because we may be going into stage 6 of Alzheimer's which is described HERE. I cannot keep up my pace. 
2. We are using a wheel chair and a walker. Last year hubby would have objected. Recently this is the way he is getting around and he is accepting it. The chiropractor can only do so much to restore his ability to walk now. He hobbles. This is stage six, folks. 
3. Urinary incontinence is here. At first hubby did not like these briefs. I wanted to mail back the adult diapers to Rite-Aid and waited for directions for that mailing that never came. Now I can use them at night and will try them tonight. This is stage six, folks. 
4. I AM BLIND! I can no longer be THAT blind to blame his behavior ALL on a UTI. 

Before I confirm stage six, which is highly suspect, I will see someone at the Alzheimer's Association tomorrow morning. We will see a neurologist in June, if not before so we can see if the Exelon Patch and Namenda will still need to be taken. What other meds does he need? I wonder.  

Sad update:  Kenny's mom, Margaret, has stage four cancer. She is in Orlando recovering from surgery that may not have gotten all the cancer. She will have chemo. Kenny told me she asked about me. She has been such a wonderful friend and fine Christian believer. I would choose her as a sister any day if I could. Her recovery is not guaranteed, but we have talked about our guaranteed future in heaven with our LORD. 

I am just not ready for all of this! 

Carol

When You Lose Your Wallet

I have had to replace the contents of my wallet. It went missing just before Easter. 

Now I have to tell you about that wallet. It was bright pink and officially in April it was the 14th anniversary present to me from my husband whose personal shopper (Carol) picked it out for a certain Carol married to my husband. 

Now I am thinking those what if questions:

What if that wallet fell out of my floppy purse I am now using?
What if I had not changed purses where it was safer in the old one?
What if someone uses the contents of that wallet for identity theft? 
What if my husband hid that wallet?  

I have read where Alzheimer's patients do hide things, although I have not seen my husband do that to date; however, he is going downhill and I will write about that decline in the next blog post most likely. 

Instead of panic, I thought of being calm.  

Losing my wallet, with all that valuable items in it,

 is not the end of the world. 

About the time I lost my wallet, I read this Scripture:

If I say, “My foot slips,”

Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up.

In the multitude of my anxieties within me,

Your comforts delight my soul.

Psalm 94:18-19

Then my special Internet friend Georgene 
who writes a blog HERE sent me this verse:  

Who can speak and have it happen 

if the Lord has not decreed it? 

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High 

that both calamities and good things come?           

Lamentations 3:37-38

Just as the LORD allowed Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia into our marriage in 2008, He has allowed my wallet to go missing and also some pretty amazing mercies. No one charged anything. I checked. With my missing Social Security card and driver's license, someone would be able in 2015 to get a tax refund off of us! Our refund has already come and been spent! I didn't panic, but just kept at replacing items and experiencing wonderful surprises. 

Two women named "Lisa" who work in Plant City.  Lisa at Bank of America helped me get immediate cash for gas and groceries and beyond that think through my credit cards and how I can pay them off quicker with help from Bank of America which I am doing. I met Lisa who processed my new driver's license, which I needed before I could get a new Bank of America debit card. Both Lisa's took pretty pictures of me for the driver's license and for the debit card. Why I even look younger than my last driver's license eight ears ago and I do not have to get it renewed in June when my 70th b. d. is next month. I found out in Florida you can renew up to eighteen months before it expires.  My new driver's license has eyebrows and is good until 2022! See HERE for that story of how I got tattooed eyebrows which saves me so much time. 

I met Paula of Plant City's Suncoast Federal Credit Union (for teachers). She helped me refinance our car just purchased a few months ago for a lower interest rate and shorter payments. See HERE for that story of my unexpected car payment and the story of how I also put my leg through the garage ceiling.   

I met Dee Dee of Plant City's Regions Bank where we have a second mortgage and a credit card. She helped me get $2500 for the refinance at Suncoast. (More is owed than the blue book values on that car, and so I had to kick in more money.) She also gave me a great packet for protecting identity theft with awesome information such as this link: 

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ss-5.pdf

I printed out page five of this application to bring to the closest Social Security office. It is basically open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 3 PM (it closes at noon on Wednesday). This week I will have worked six days after I teach this afternoon. For the next four weeks I am taking one weekday a week off, however, so I will be getting that new Social Security card next week and meeting someone else to help me with my journey to replace the contents of my wallet.  This time, however, I will keep that Social Security card and other items in our home safe where I also have Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Surrogate documents for my husband. 

Hard for me to replace has been my State Farm insurance card. Every month I put aside money for  this payment. Somehow I don't have their number in my cell phone and can't find the policy. We pay them every six months automatically through Bank of America. Suncoast would like that information to add to my car payments, but it is hard to come by now until the June bill comes. By the way, State Farm was wonderful when we were hit by a DUI driver three years ago. See HERE. 

Speaking of cell phones, I am glad that if I lose mine the data in my iPhone is all on my iMac computer, as are the songs and podcasts still on my iMac should I lose my iPod. Putting those wonderful ladies in my iPhone, along with other numbers I have had to use. 

When you don't have much spare time, losing a wallet can be a bummer. However, I have met wonderful Plant City business women (Lisa, Lisa, Paula and Dee Dee) and thanked them and even rapped* for them. I brought a smile to these ladies when I did so and each of them helped me keep calm and brought a smile to me. 

*Yes, at almost 70 years of age, I rap!  Amusing to me as well.  See MC AC The Rap Lady on YouTube at the top of this page or copyrighted lyrics for "Carol's raps" in the label section at the right of this blog. 

Outings With My Dementia-Impaired Husband

Tuesday we wert to a concert:

THE BRIGHT STARS SENIOR IDOL SHOW 

at

Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. 

We had to go because my retired teacher friend  was performing. She was one of three performers to win the first round in our area and this was the next round. So exciting! Hubby and I set off two hours before the 6:30 concert was to begin.

I played classic oldies from my iPod on the way over--Side by Side, I Just called to Say I Love You, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, For Once in My Life, and You Are the Sunshine of My Life. I knew when we got to the concert, there would be plenty more songs that hubby and I could enjoy. 

Now hubby is adjusting (or not) to changes these days. His doctor says he has to use his walker. However, when we got to Ruth Eckerd Hall,  he wanted no part of the walker in the parking lot to get to the auditorium. I motioned for the security guard in a golf cart. But after walking by several parked cars,  he changed his mind and had me retrieve the walker. Meanwhile the golf cart appeared and hubby went off in that golf cart with the walker in the back to the concert entrance. I walked to meet him. 

It might have worked better if Sally and Jake had been able to come with us, but Sally got sick at the last moment. However, I really did want to see my friend perform. Hubby was being stubborn and wanted to go back home after our long drive before we were even seated. Someone I had met through this friend appeared and she did help hubby get to our seats in the auditorium. I have that wife nag factor, whereas someone else can get him to do things. At the intermission after six performances,  hubby wanted to go home, but I said no and he did sit down. He will not argue in public. 

My friend was the eleventh of twelve performers. She herself came out in a walker and said to the audience:

You got to do what you got to do. 

My friend performing at 
Ruth Eckerd Hall, April 22, 2014

She leaned on a baby grand piano and the Bright House staff took her walker away. Her first song was Neither One of Us and she nailed it. For her second song she was accompanied on that piano by her cousin and it was so moving. She sang I'm Still Holding On, a Christian song by Luther Barnes. She was holding on and I have to hold on also at this stage of Alzheimer's.  After the concert I sent her a text that she had nailed it. Hubby waited with his walker while I went to get our car and we went to a late dinner at Applebee's. Usually in bed at 8 pm I drank a lot of strong coffee at Applebee's and we got home way after midnight. I canceled my job substituting in a middle school for Wednesday and used that day to sleep in and work on other pressing matters. 

The next outing was today--a one-year-old birthday party for two dog siblings. One of those dogs belongs to our friends Sally and Jake, and of course we had to go! It would be our dog Ziggy's first social engagement ever. 

Now Kenny isn't available for the shave and shower at this time, so I had to perform this routine with my husband this morning.  I live such a crazy busy life and it came to the fact that I had to slow down to accomplish the shave and shower.

The wooden chair by the bed is so useful. Hubby uses that one arm for help getting up; and then he faces the chair and uses both arms while I pull his slacks up. That chair is also useful for pill taking. The morning pills went well because we used that routine established my Kenny. I have something cold for you to drink, I said as I sat in the chair and then we both took our Saturday morning pills.

The shave in the master bath went well. In the light later I realized what a poor job I had done with the shave. (Kenny does a better job with these routines.) While I shaved DH with a razor, I told him how in the middle of the night I had been able to catch that frog that lived in the master bath toilet--coming back up after it had been flushed down. Last night the frog was out of the toilet and by the shower, I reported, and I chased it to a corner and put the urinal upside down on it and he jumped in. Then I closed the urinal and brought that frog outside. Now I had to tell hubby this news one idea at a time so he understood what I said. We both laughed. 

It came time for the shower--a easy distance from the shave since the shave is always done while hubby sits on the toilet lid as a chair. That shower is right next to it.  But it was not to be!

Let me lay down for a couple of minutes before I take it was his request. He did so. I sat in our bedroom and opened mail and got on my Notebook computer and also played Words With Friends on my iPod--for an hour I did this.

Then he wanted to get dressed without taking the shower, but I had not put any clothes out for him as I always do these days. I had to really insist to get him into the shower. I even called Kenny who gave him a pep talk. It took maybe five minutes of arguing.

Finally with the shower done and hubby dressed in a cowboy shirt with a country belt on his jeans, we were able to get to the next social event--today's party for the sibling dogs who had both turned one. Our dog Ziggy was not his best--outside he peed on the jeans of the hostess, but all five dogs did get along, although Ziggy seemed shy.  Ziggy didn't understand doggy ice cream and doggy cake, but the other four dogs were happy to eat his on the paper plate on the cement. We people guests had hot dogs, chips, people ice cream and we shared a large cookie that said happy birthday to the dogs.

For the people guests

Jake gets busy filling up everyone's drinks. He always likes to be busy to feel normal I think. My hubby likes to feel normal by not using his walker and with conversation of events that probably didn't happen or are distorted at best. Jake will repeat himself more than my husband will, but they do say that every person with Alzheimer's is different. The friendship between Jake and my husband is so very fascinating to Sally and myself. 

I do wonder how long we will be able to enjoy outings. I think of my friend's words--you got to do what you got to do. I also think of the poem DO THE NEXT THING as a great motto these days. See this poem HERE.

UPDATES 

• Kenny's mother is having surgery in Orlando for possible cancer. Please pray for her. 
• I am in the process of replacing the items in my wallet--more on these adventures later.
• Plumbing issues are being addressed. Have to get the same plumber back to fix the water softener to help with the rust from our well water. Indoor problems are solved. 
• Pharis and his kids have worked in the yard and he has fixed the hole in the garage ceiling I made when my leg went through the roof last December. 
• Let me know if you wish to be in a Blogging Tour where I introduce you to three blogging friends and then they introduce me to three of their own blogging friends. 

Find the Humor

www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

Lots of stress this past week including health concerns for Kenny's mother who is scheduled for surgery tomorrow--stay tuned. With Kenny at the hospital for the past few days and for three weeks after the surgery when he goes out of town to help another relative of his, it is my turn to shave and shower my husband. HUBBY THINKS OF ME AS THE NAG IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.

I actually cried in front of my husband tonight about what kind of underwear he is supposed to wear now and whether or not he takes a shower. I have to keep reminding him to use the walker--doctor said so, I tell him. I asked him to pray for me which he did because I was so upset; somehow he found enough words to make a thoughtful prayer. He soften and promised to take that shower in the morning.

We had a plumber out on Wednesday, but for two nights water spilled out in the backyard. They came back, with an explanation,  but it is still not ideal. I don't do plumbing and car repair, nor can I explain them. I miss the days when my hubby could handle these issues.

Last night of all things I misplaced my wallet. I noticed it last night and retraced my steps today. I went to the bank this morning to see about a new debit card. I got cash out so I could buy gas. I need to replace a lot of items including the driver's license and credit cards.

But, what the heck, let me laugh a little at the two Alzheimer's husbands and at myself. .

Thursday night. Hubby is so slow at eating now that it doesn't pay to eat out if we are on a time crunch. But for our 14th anniversary two nights ago (when I had my wallet and when we did have time), we did eat out at Carrabbas in Plant City. I used my iPhone to post our picture on Facebook and my goodness we got so many likes and comments! Hubby was still working on his dinner of course when I was finished eating.

I have to laugh at myself. I didn't want to have an anniversary where we didn't talk, but I just got bored. He often doesn't understand what I say.  So out came Words With Friends games on my iPhone. Our waiter helped me with a game. Then it came up that I have a YouTube channel and often people in Plant City recognize me as MC AC The Rap Lady. In this nice restaurant our waiter got  other staff together to hear several of my raps. Hubby just enjoyed me rapping for these folks. Really we both had a great time.

Good Friday. Since we met Sally and Jake over three years ago, we have been going to Good Friday services at their church. Friday night was no exception. Sally told me 7 pm and we were late because of those bathroom issues of hubby. When we got to their church, the sign said 6:30 PM for Good Friday services so WE WERE REALLY LATE.  We snuck in and sat in back of Jake. Sally was in the choir. I watched Jake try to navigate the bulletin in this liturgical church and helped him at times. He started singing the choir's song. After the service Sally asked me if we could take Jake to Denny's while she and their granddaughter had a choir practice for Easter. The three of us headed to Denny's and I tried to find the funny with the conversation of our two Alzheimer's husbands, DH and  Jake.

Not to make fun of the husbands, but to document the stage they are in I was keeping track of the conversation. About ten times Jake wanted to talk about whether his wife would be joining us.

Jake: Where's my wife now?

Me:  She is at choir practice for Easter. She and your granddaughter will be joining us.

Finally (so I wouldn't be tempted to play Words With Friends on my iPhone as I did on our anniversary the previous night), I switched the subject and said that yesterday was our 14th anniversary. Jake then found a new topic--how long he and Sally had been married. He got his wallet out and started looking. The conversation went on and on--same comments.

DH: Your wife will know how many years it is, Jake.

Jake (repeatedly): But I should know. I am embarrassed that I do not know.

I finally told Jake that one doesn't keep the wedding certificate in his wallet. Now I happened to know that Sally and Jake had their 40th anniversary last summer. He continued to be so upset that he didn't know this. I wrote on a slip of paper for Jake: I was married in 1973 which means I have been married for 40 years. He put it in his wallet to take the place of that marriage license that he thought should be there.

Sally and their granddaughter came. He asked her about how long they had been married and said he was upset he didn't know.

Sally: Sometimes you forget things.

Both husbands needed their wives to them them how old they are. Sally whispered in Jake's ear.

Jake: I'm 76.

Me: Do you know how old you are, Sweetheart?

I also whispered in my husband's ear.

DH: I'm 76.

The granddaughter laughed.

Sally offered to pay for my coffee and my husband's milkshake. So I didn't realize that wallet was missing last night. I have indeed been humbled losing something.

I had been keeping hubby's debit card in that missing wallet along with mine. Today, Saturday morning, we went to the bank to get new debit cards. Hubby told the bank officer earlier today that I was always losing things.

Me: Name another time.

DH: There have been thousands of them.

Then we went to visit the hospital where Kenny and his mother were awaiting her surgery.

From Deal Dash posted on Facebook

Movies With Memory Loss Issues

This is a repost of one I took off.  I have added one recent movie. 

"God's Not Dead". I was glad we could have a date that we both enjoyed so much recently. My husband was moved by the movie and didn't seem to flinch with the mother who has memory problems--in fact he didn't remember that part of the movie later. It is certainly more biblical than the current "Noah" which doesn't even mention God (we didn't see that one and do not plan to). The next day my husband didn't remember this movie at all.  

"The Notebook" is a beautify movie and book by Nicholas Sparks. We have seen that movie on TV. I may read the book, both well reviewed. Sparks writes in chapter one The romantics would call this a love story, the cynics would call it a tragedy. In my mind it's a little bit of both. Yep.

ADDED on APRIL 22, 2014.  SEE REVIEW IN COMMENT BELOW. 

"50 First Dates" my husband has seen several times I know and he remembers that movie but has said he doesn't remember how it ends. Four years ago he watched it on Easter with his son who was visiting Plant City. I wonder if they discussed it--I was at Books-a-Million with other family members at the time getting a book so the teenage granddaughter had something to read on her trip home to Virginia. We also own this movie and have enjoyed seeing it several times. There is  scene in the art class when the character played my Drew works; several men have 10 second memory and this is comedy in the film. However, the movie is very sweet.

"The Vow".  I wrote on Facebook: We saw "The Vow" today and it touched my husband. I told him if he forgot me I would court him as Kim courted Krickett. He said he wouldn't forget that he is married to me. He also compaired it to the movie "50 First Dates". I understand that the book is also a best seller now, and tells more of the Christian faith of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. The world needs to understand that a wedding vow is a wedding vow. I am going to see if I can get this book for my Nook. The movie leaves so much out and makes it so Hollywood. However, that movie did bump up sales for the book.

"A 1000 Words" stars Eddie Murphy as Jack McCall and we saw this recently when we couldn't get into "Hunger Games" which of course was sold out that first weekend. Later we saw Hunger Games and I loved it. My husband liked neither movie.  "A 1000 Words" has gotten poor reviews and what disturbs me the most is how Jack McCall's mother who has dementia is portrayed. I have no sense that she is being properly cared for and her confusion that her son Jack is her husband is meant for comedy. Memory issues are not funny, folks.

"Away from Her" is about Grant and Fiona Anderson. Fiona is admitten to a facility and Grant cannot visit her for 30 days. When he does see Fiona after those 30 days, she has forgotten him. I haven't seen this movie yet, but learned about it at an Alzheimer's workshop several years ago. I ordered it, but have not seen it yet. 

"Forget Me Never" my husband and I saw on TV, enjoyed it, and I blogged about it earlier on Plant City Lady and Friends. We saw this movie, however, before he ever acknowledged his memory problems.

Tom Rush has a video song that makes fun of memory. Loss of memory, however, is not funny at all when you have it or your family member has that memory loss. My husband often relies on me for memory. I tell him I am happy to be his memory, but that memory is so painfully less now than two years ago when I first posted this list of movies.

Not My Problem?

NOT MY PROBLEM? 

Romans 12:10-15 reads: 
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 
not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, 
continuing steadfastly in prayer; 
distributing to the needs of the saints, 
given to hospitality. 
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

There is so much physical and mental suffering out there. Some people are grieving the loss of a loved one due to disease or accidental death. So many causes to support and people to care about and pray about. Sometimes we miss that suffering and just concentrate on our own family and our own issues. We want to be happy after all. Why care about . . .

• Cancer research is a big one. Wear pink. Many times cancer research gets big bucks because people with Alzheimer's often die of other causes. Nonetheless, let's support both cancer and Alzheimer's research. 
• Problems with asbestos. Heather send me an email to feature asbestos problems HERE.
• Mental and physical abuse by others. Human trafficking. Horrible scars. 
• Loneliness.  

which can lead to

• Depression. See HERE for what you can do. 
• Autism. This can be a hard one for families. 
  

• Whooping cough. Saw this poster at the right at the mall telling us to get vaccinated. Praying for some children who have whooping cough now.
• Addictions of various sorts. I teach a class about once a month for DUI offenders and we discuss those substance addictions. 

We saw the movie "God Is Not Dead" Thursday night. A lead character has a mother with Alzheimer's in that movie. That mother didn't remember her son and daughter. In the movie the daughter was attentive, but the son wasn't. The mother loved chicken and would request it every night. My hubby is getting like that--favorite foods. I asked him about the scenes with the mother in the movie and her poor memory. He didn't remember that scene. The next morning he didn't remember the movie.

Yes, I mainly write about dementia issues here, but LORD forgive me for not caring and reaching out to others with other needs.

I do know that my husband's faith shows when his memory doesn't and he cares about issues that he sees in the moment and we can pray together in the moment. You should have heard his prayer Monday at the restaurant when we took Kenny out for his birthday. It was as if he never had vascular dementia or Alzheimer's. As Sally and I learned in an Alzheimer's workshop yesterday, the soul doesn't get Alzheimer's.



Let's remember that our ALZHEIMER'S caregiving is not the only issue out there. Above all, let's heed the call of the LORD on our lives before we get Alzheimer's or some other dementia when we cannot heed His call.

Carol