Family

Archived Posts from this Category

March 14, 2010

When to Worry

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Hospice, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Sources of Strength, Therapeutic Activities | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[5] Comments 

“The Doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” Not only do some who read my posts show love and concern and words of compassion and support, some of you are also worried about how I am doing.  You may very well suspect that I am trying to treat myself spiritually and mentally, against which the above aphorism warns.

You may not change your mind after I have described what leads me to feel secure and healthy in the midst of dealing with so much over which I have no control.  I hope you catch sight of some of what keeps me grounded spiritually and mentally.  I will also share with you some things to watch for that might be symptomatic of losing my bearings.  What I will share is not just about me but anyone who is in a role like mine, or struggling in any way with things over which they have no control.

Last nights post was a window into the specifics of one of our challenges.  I have chosen to write in great detail what we are going through and my feelings about it.  I do so for a number of reasons.  One is that I think it is more interesting, and brings to life what we are experiencing in a way that is accessible to someone who doesn’t have direct experience with whatever it is.

I write in such detail the struggles we are going through and my feelings about them so that readers who are in this kind of role will be reassured that they are not alone in their frustrations.  Somehow it is a little easier to endure seemingly impossible situations when it is clear that there are others doing so.

I write in such detail, including feelings of helplessness as options seem to narrow and the boundary of the ability to cope comes into view. so that those who happen not have been there can catch sight of that place.  That goal is to encourage all of us to look each other with a level of compassion, realizing that the people we know, many of them, may be in the throes of some sort of personal battle, suffering in silence.

I am not silent.  One of the purposes of sharing all the gory details of our journey is that it helps me not to be silent.  I have been using all of you who read these purposes as a collective therapist.  You listen.  No one can go through another’s pain and experience it for them.  Each of us has to survive our own pain.  Many of us like doing so in a community.  You are my community.  The Volunteers are my community.  Friends and family are my community.  I am also part of your community.  One of the greatest joys in the ministry has been listening to and talking with others, maybe some of you, when you have been dealing with things over which you had no control.  I can only hope that the time we spent together helped.

When I write, I seek to be straight with you.  I have chosen, wisely or unwisely, to forgo any pretense that because I am a Pastor I am always pure and holy and strong and capable and wise and completely in control mentally and spiritually.  The tradition of which I am a part is about the Grace of God.  That means I believe that I am loved and forgiven just the way I come, ugliness and all.  I am not saddled with the hopeless task of becoming so wonderful and loving that I measure up to God’s expectations.  I need to be able to fail God and know that God will not fail me — even though it would be only fair for God to do so.  I don’t want a God that treats me with fairness.  I want a God who treats me with mercy.

Here is my assessment of how I am doing.  I think I am doing well.  I feel whole and full of life.  I hide very little from you as I write.  By doing so, it helps me see the reality of what we are going through here. It feels healthy to me to be able now to cry, to grieve, to express frustration, as well as describe the natural beauty that nurtures my spirit. I am free to feel the pain deeply because while it is very real, it does not have within it the power to destroy me.

Here is where the faith tradition of which I am a part frames my world view in specific terms.  I affirm that the One whose actions consummated the deal that has resulted in the Grace of God sustaining me and any who happen to recognize a need for it, has shown me how to live.  He loved people deeply, he knew how to party, he had compassion, he cried, he got angry, he got frustrated with others, he went off by himself to pray, he went to church, he felt pain, he felt overwhelmed, he cried out in desperation from the means of his execution, he faced death without pretense, went into it, through it all, and came out on the other side with life past any power to destroy it.

I feel utterly and completely secure in the love that surrounds me from the One who creates life in me every day, who has put his life on the line for me, whose Spirit nurtures my spirit.

In human terms, I have children and their spouses who listen to and support Mary Ann and me.  They will do anything in their power to be there for us.  I have Brothers and Sisters who care about us.  Every Wednesday morning four of us spend a couple of hours with Scripture and the reflections of others who have gone before us in the faith.  We talk about God’s participation in our lives moment by moment, day by day.  While not often enough, the interactions with friend John from Oklahoma have been exceedingly nurturing Spiritually.  At the moment he is leading a group on a mission trip to Guatemala.  Please keep him and his group in your prayers.  The times I spend in reading and meditation and solitude (deck time, listening to music, appreciating the beauty of nature) are pivotal in maintaining Spiritual and mental equilibrium.  The retreats to St. Francis of the Woods in Oklahoma are powerfully healing.

The online community of those caring for spouses with a form of Lewy Body Dementia has provided a place where complete understanding can be found.  There are many things that I would not say here in these posts that can be said openly in that group with utter and unconditional acceptance.  That group demystifies things that could have more power than they deserve. Reading those posts daily helps put our struggles in perspective.

Words are an important way for me to process what we are experiencing.  Using them in writing and in interaction with anyone unfortunate enough to ask how we are doing, provides a wonderful release.

Here is when to worry: when I stop writing and talking.  It will be time to worry when I no longer shower and wash my hair in the morning, get Mary Ann dressed and fed, make the beds and clean the commode, clean the kitchen counters, drink PT’s coffee and eat Baskin & Robbins ice cream (actually I should stop that last one, it would be healthier), feed the birds.  If I start telling everyone how perfectly I am doing, never sad or frustrated or out of control or grumpy or angry, always sweet and nice and wonderful, then it will be time to call 911 and have me institutionalized.

All of that being said, “The Doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” I appreciate people asking the hard questions of me since I could be deluding myself into thinking I am doing better than I am.  When the Hospice Social Worker came, she asked very many pointed questions of both Mary Ann and me.  I felt I was being absolutely honest with her when I answered each question.  I recognize that there are still more difficult times coming.  I feel healthy spiritually and mentally now, and I expect to deal with what comes as it comes in ways that express fully what I am going through. I am on the pay as you go plan.  When I hurt, I will hurt and when I am wounded, I will feel the pain.  With that Grace of God as the power, healing will come.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

March 11, 2010

Cardiologist Agrees!

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Hospice, Information on Parkinson's, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Relationship Issues, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 

Even though at the family meeting we all heard Mary Ann say yes, she would like to have the Do Not Resuscitate order in place, it is not easy to formalize that decision.  There is a paper to be signed and witnessed by someone outside of the family to make it valid.  It can, of course, be rescinded at any time. 

It was a help to have a long conversation with our Cardiologist who knows Mary Ann’s situation intimately.  It was almost seven years ago that she went into the hospital through Emergency with Congestive Heart Failure.  That was his first exposure to the complexities of Mary Ann’s unique situation.  He is the one who said she was within a hair’s breadth of going on a ventilator at that time. 

It was then that the silent heart attacks were discovered.  We apparently assumed it was just bad reflux from taking all the medications every day for the Parkinson’s.  The Cardiologist confirmed just how unlikely it would have been then to imagine that almost seven years later, she would still be here and we would be having today’s conversation.  In fact, he admitted that while none of us can predict such things, even with all her heart problems, he does not expect that to be what finally ends the journey for her. 

Mary Ann is one tough Cookie!  I respect his assessment of the her situation.  In fact it encourages me that while Hospice works with a six month trajectory, Mary Ann may have a different idea.  As difficult as this is sometimes, I would rather continue for a long time than lose her. 

In fairness to Mary Ann, we need not to do things that could prolong her days past her ability to have some quality of life.  Yes, we seem to have moved into the last leg of the trip.  We need to be realistic and put in place plans that fit those circumstances.  We do not, however, have to assume any specific time frame.  We can’t know that.  While we are here together, we are here together.  It is not that somehow there is less of Mary Ann because she has a cluster of health problems that seem to be moving into the end stage. 

Earlier today I read a post in the online Lewy Body Dementia Spouses group that was a lengthy article that was published in England containing a detailed description of LBD and stories of folks who have had it.  It was interesting to see in such specific terms so many of the problems Mary Ann has, especially the hallucinations and delusions.  Mary Ann’s is a textbook case.  The article pointed out that the whole person is still present in someone with LBD pretty much to the end.  That whole person comes in flashes or for longer periods of time, without warning when that whole, lucid person is about to return or about to leave again.  It is confusing but at the same time comforting to know she is likely to still be with us some of the time to the very end. 

One thing about which the Cardiologist was adamant was to let go of the heroic measures and do exactly what the Hospice folks asked us to do.  Call Hospice, don’t call 911, don’t go to the Emergency Room, don’t use the paddles, don’t do CPR, don’t go to the hospital, don’t insert a feeding tube or other mechanisms for prolonging days that are coming to an end naturally as her body winds down.  Yes, use every medication available to treat immediate symptoms.  If there is an infection, use antibiotics.  Control pain to the degree possible.  Gratefully, most of the things above are already in the pretty standard Living Will Mary Ann and I had done by a local Attorney credentialed in Elder Law. 

It was very helpful to have confirmation by the Cardiologist that we have made the right decisions along the way.  In Mary Ann’s case the combination of End Stage Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s Disease Dementia that is progressing rapidly, and a Cardio-Vascular System that is well past repair, made the decision process less challenging than others might have. 

With all that said, this is Mary Ann we are talking about.  Seven years from now the Cardiologist and I may be having another conversation about Mary Ann much like today’s –” Who could have guessed seven years ago….??”

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

March 8, 2010

Mary Ann is Now in Hospice Care

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Information on Parkinson's, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Relationship Issues, Therapeutic Activities, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

What that means is that we have someone to call whatever comes up.  A Hospice Nurse will stop by a couple of times a week.  We have added one day a week of having an Aide to help with shower and hair.  Mary Ann loves current Bath Aide Zandra, so we will continue to use that paid service.  All the Hospice costs are covered by Medicare.

The Hospice Nurse who enrolled Mary Ann today was already helpful.  Mary Ann declined so much in the last few days since we took her off one med (Amantadine), that I thought we should start it again.  Because these are powerful meds, I didn’t want to do it without professional advice.  This is Sunday.  Nurse Jennifer contacted the Hospice Pharmacist and confirmed that it was all right to restart the med.  The most obvious change was the clubbing of Mary Ann’s hands, rendering them useless — in four days.  We are all hoping that her hands will return to functionality when the med reaches the therapeutic level in her bloodstream.  There are no guarantees that she will regain what she lost.

Mary Ann was a little more responsive this afternoon.  She was up while the Hospice Nurse was here, and she responded appropriately a few times.  She has been sleeping much of the day, but up for breakfast and to get dressed, as well as an hour or two after the Hospice Nurse left.  She was actually lying with her head down and her eyes closed, but at least she was out of the bedroom.  She ate lunch, the usual half sandwich, chips and a Pepsi, followed by a good-sized bowl of Buttered Pecan ice cream.  As hard as it is to hold her head up and feed her at the same time, I am cherishing every moment we have together.

She has not yet eaten supper.  I have been going in to talk with her every half hour or so to see if she is hungry or wants to use the bathroom.  She finally got up to eat at about 8pm.  She ate a substantial supper capped off with a small Boost and ice cream shake.  The Boost should help assure adequate nouishment.

As the evening has worn on, it is beginning to appear that the Amantidine is a very problematic medication.  She is now very alert, unable to sleep, doing some hallucinating, and when she was in bed complaining that she couldn’t move.  She is up and in the living room watching television, sitting up and it is 11:15pm.  There is no sign she is slowing down — I take that back.  She just decided to lie down in bed.  I don’t know how long that will last, but she has been sleeping most of the time for almost five days, so I guess it would be no surprise if she is up many times tonight.

It is tiring be be jerked around so much of the time by medications that wreak havoc with her functionality.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes they do exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to do.  Then in an hour or a day or a week, they start doing what they are supposed to do — or not.  I will wait to see if her hands open and resume usefulness.  If they don’t, I will talk with the doctor again about the possibility of removing it.  When looking at side effects, Amantidine’s list contains very many of Mary Ann’s problems.  Stopping it seemed to result in the clawed hands and weakness that does not allow her even to assist in a transfer, let alone walk, even with assistance.  Today after restarting the Amantadine this afternoon, it has seemed to produce more strength and alertness, sort of bringing her back to life.  Of course I can’t be sure the medicine is causing all the changes.  It is just that the changes seem to associate directly with the times we stopped and then started again the Amantadine.

Even the professionals, Doctors and Pharmacists can’t help very much since people don’t always react in the same way to the same medication.

On the positive side of taking the Amantadine, if it helps with her alertness and ability to communicate, that will be a very good thing in the next few weeks.  Some of Mary Ann’s friends and family intend to come and visit.  They would appreciate being able to interact meaningfully with her.

Some readers have asked about the time at the Retreat Center — how it went.  I have already written about the two evenings.  The day Friday was wonderful.  It was 70 degrees and full sun all day long.  Thursday night, when heading out to watch the sun set, I was spotted by a deer, who headed over to be with ten more deer.  I watched them for a long time.

During the day on Friday, I walked at a leisurely pace along the path that wanders back and forth through a large wooded area.  The moss on the path was in its new spring shade of green.  The trees were budded out ready to burst open with flowers for leaves.  There were birds to be enjoyed. There were some I couldn’t identify (not unusual).  Even though they are common, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker that doesn’t have a red belly, and the Yellow-Rumped Warbler, that does have a yellow rump are just fun to call by name.

I did see something out of the ordinary.  It is what one of the staff there has dubbed the Mutant Armadillo.  It is certainly an Armadillo, but the largest one I have ever seen, dead or alive.  I suspect it would take five or more of the ones that are routinely spotted on the side of the road with their feet in the ari to match the weight and size of the monster I saw.

I sat for a long time on the three legged stool in the fartthest corner of the property I could reach.  I read Psalm 104, a great description of the creation and all that’s in it.  Then I read the a few chapters in the book probing the implications of physics in regard to the presence of God.  It was a good grounding for me as we ride the roller coaster we are on here at home. I did take a moment to phone home from that place.  I have done that on the last few retreats.  It helps me keep the world of prayer and meditation connected to the day to day reality.

I continue to be overwhelmed by the words of support through the electronic media.  There is no chance to feel isolated and alone when so many are thinking of us and praying for us.  Thank you all for that.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

March 7, 2010

Decision is Made

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Information on Parkinson's, Meaningful Caregiving, Relationship Issues, Sources of Strength, Therapeutic Activities | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[7] Comments 

I am phoning the Hospice folks tomorrow (Sunday) to begin the application process for Hospice.  When we asked in a way that she could respond yes or no, Mary Ann said yes.  The kids both agree wholeheartedly.  I have grieved my way through to agreeing.

It seems none too soon.  I can’t believe how much Mary Ann appears to have declined in just the last three or four days.  She slept through the entire time I was gone, either in bed or in her chair with her head down.  She had been sleeping like that before I left.  She is seldom responsive, but can on occasion be lucid for a while. All of a sudden in the last three days, her hands have swollen and are stuck in a clench, which could become hand contractures, something our daughter saw often in the nursing home context.

Mary Ann was at the table with us during the entire conversation about Hospice, and the decision about the possibility of a Do Not Resuscitate order.  She had her head down but her eyes open.  The kids were sitting closest to her and I was across from her.  We worked hard to get responses from her at various times.  I explained that acceptance by Hospice would imply that we are on about a six month trajectory.  I added that if she was doing better she could “graduate” from Hospice for a time.  She responded in a way that seemed to indicate she was tracking with what I was saying.  She said a distinct yes, for all three of us to hear.

What is most comforting to me and, I am sure, to Mary Ann is that should she qualify for Hospice Care, she will be able to stay at home to the very end.  We both dread hospital stays so much; that alone was enough to seal the deal.  Of course, there still could be need for hospital care, but since Hospice can administer IV’s at home, it is far less likely there will be any need to do so.

I talked about the DNR option.  After explaining it and the reasoning for it, I asked her first thoughts on it.  Again she said, yes.  I told her that I would check back with her another time to be sure.

Since, a decade or two ago, Mary Ann already had tearfully wished she had gotten something she could die from rather than the long protracted decline of a disease like Parkinson’s, the DNR did not bring resistance but agreement.

Speaking of tears!  I have encouraged people, men and women alike, to celebrate the ability to cry as a powerful gift from God.  I have told people that it is a sign of strength and not of weakness.  At the same time I was proud of myself that in my adult life I could count on one hand the times I had cried out loud, sort of denying my own counsel.  Well, I am now, a few weeks short of my 67th birthday, giving up counting.

Last night in the cabin at the retreat center in Oklahoma, I could no longer hold it in.  I have ministered to people for forty years.  I have watched die and done funerals for people that I genuinely cared about.  I refused to become clinical and treat funerals and the people grieving at them as just a part of a job.  I risked becoming vulnerable enough to care about them.  I buried babies, and teenagers and young adults, parent of young children, people of all ages and circumstance.  I felt the pain and cared about how they were feeling.  I ministered to people and preached at the funerals and never broke down (except once in an inconspicuous moment after preaching at the funeral of one of my best friends).  I cannot describe to you just how different it is to think about watching Mary Ann go through what I have seen far too many times in these forty years.

I want this process to stop right now.  I am not willing to lose her — but I can’t do a damn thing about it!  There is no where to which to run to get away from it.  I have a very ugly and very loud cry.  I guess not having practiced it more, I never really learned how to do it well.  I warned the kids tonight and asked them to explain to their children that they might see their Grandpa crying out loud, but not to be afraid.  I wanted them to know that it is all right, even healthy to cry, to let their emotions show.

I spent the evening the night before last talking with friend John.  I just spewed it all out, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I can trust John with the worst of it.  He can listen without judgment and never give advice.  He had gone through a shorter version of this when his wife died of Cancer — shorter, but no less devastating.  He had some very tough challenges as a single parent immediately after Sherrie’s death.  I shared a struggle with anger toward someone in Mary Ann’s closest circle who hurt her deeply.  That evening, that person and that deed’s power to turn me into someone I don’t like was lifted from my shoulders, better said, my gut.

So much is happening so fast.  This is all I will write for now.  More will follow.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

March 4, 2010

Hospice Report — Lisa’s Here — Construction Begins

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Information on Parkinson's, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Sources of Strength, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 

We met with two folks from a local Hospice program for about an hour and a half this afternoon.  The construction has begun on the sunroom.  Lisa has arrived.  Three of the anticipated events have been (are being) realized. 

Lisa came in late in the evening.  Mary Ann was in bed but awake enough to get to see her and talk for a moment.  It will be interesting to see which Mary Ann will be present with Lisa during these three days, sleeping Mary Ann, hallucinating Mary Ann or lucid Mary Ann.  It could be all three who appear.  This form of dementia is so odd and unpredictable in how it presents itself. 

The folks from Hospice were, of course, very pleasant and engaging.  The one who took the lead was Nurse Lisa (same first name as our Daughter – lest you be confused).  She had managed to get information from the doctors, at least the Cardiologist.   She had read it over carefully and was fully aware of Mary Ann’s situation, at least to the extent of what was covered by the information she had received. 

They asked lots of questions, and listened carefully to the account of Mary Ann’s current situation and recent history.  There is a doctor in Kansas City who is charged with determining if Mary Ann’s problems rise to the level required for enrollment in Hospice.  The three general problems that will be evaluated are her heart issues, her late stage Parkinson’s and her dementia.  It is one of those three that must be at a certain level.   

One understandable but mildly disappointing observation made by Nurse Lisa was that Mary Ann’s dementia was certainly not bad enough to qualify her.  Understand, I would be happy to hear that she isn’t yet far enough along to require Hospice care.  Nurse Lisa made that comment after Mary Ann got up from a nap and I brought her to the table with us.  Mary Ann was alert enough to present herself well. 

Parkinson’s Disease Dementia [PDD]  is a Dementia with Lewy Bodies [LBD].  It is different from Senile Dementia or Alzheimer’s Dementia.   PDD/LBD does not move in a steady decline but erratically jumps between severe dementia, especially hallucinations, to lucidity, or sleep.  All of the LBD Spouses in the online group I am in know about “showtime.”  People with this disease can present themselves in a way that looks and sounds as if they are functioning very well.  Later this evening Mary Ann was hallucinating almost constantly, just as she had early in the day.

One of the challenges with this disease is finding people who understand it, or educating them so that they do.  We will find out by Friday what the doctor says about the assessment of her problems and their implications for enrolling in Hospice.  Since I will be out of town on retreat, they will call our Daughter Lisa.  By the way, our Daughter Lisa worked in a Hospice program in South Carolina for a few years.  She said that there and in the Hospice programs she has checked on the Internet, a problem called “Failure to Thrive” has often been used.  That is used when there are multiple problems, including weight loss.  Mary Ann’s height/weight ratio fits well within the range of those who qualify for other hospice programs. 

Nurse Lisa and the other Hospice rep named Chris mentioned that 20% of those who enroll in Hospice, eventually graduate.  That means they get better and no longer fit the criteria for enrollment.   If Mary Ann is enrolled, we will set graduation as a goal.  While the resources and support provided by Hospice appear to be wonderful, we have a pretty effective system already and would like to extend our quality time together.  Bythe way, a recent study is suggesting that those enrolled in Hospice generally live longer than those who are not enrolled in hospice.  The LBD Caregiving Spouses online group posted that information this morning, well before this afternoon’s meeting with Hospice. 

This morning we experienced the classic frustration of conflicting medical problems and treatments.  When Bath Aide Zandra was doing the morning shower, hair washing, dressing routine, Mary Ann fainted two or three times — once she bumped her head since Zandra had her hands full with soap and hand held shower sprayer and could not catch her in time.   I suggested to Zandra that maybe I could give her the Midodrine that helps raise her blood pressure before Zandra comes to see if it will help.  Then when Parish Nurse Margaret was here later in the morning to spend a couple of hours with Mary Ann so that I could have a break, her blood pressure measured 204/100.   There seems to be no way to keep her from experiencing a low blood pressure syncope (fainting) without raising her blood pressure dangerously high.  Imagine how high it would have been if I had given her a Midodrine this morning before Zandra came.

The jury is still out on whether eliminating the Amantidine is more good than bad (see last night’s post). 

After the meeting with Hospice, we managed to get to a Lenten Worship Service at church and the meal following.  At the meal, she was willing to let me feed her.  She ate a good quantity of food.  She usually resists letting me feed her in public.  It may be that there are so many church folks there who have been very accepting and very helpful to us, that Mary Ann simply feels secure enough not to be so concerned about what they think of her as she is being fed. 

The very noisy construction crew have been doing demolition and then preparation for putting in the subfloor of the new sun room.  It will be hard to put that project out of my mind so that I can relax for the three days I will be on retreat.    The time is set for John to come to the center and spend time talking tomorrow evening (see last night’s post)

It seems like such an important transitional time for us.  It will not be clear how important it is or is not until weeks or months later as this journey unfolds.  The Spiritual Formation Group’s conversation this morning centered on the matter of  looking for past times that ended up serving as teaching moments for God to shape who we are becoming. 

I guess it is still energizing and exciting to realize that even as Geezers we are growing and  becoming more than we have been and less than we will be.  It is sort of like Adolescence without the pimples!  (Constipation instead.)

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

March 3, 2010

Anticipation

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Information on Parkinson's, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Relationship Issues, Sources of Strength, Therapeutic Activities | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Connecting the posts on this blog to Facebook has brought a wonderful new dimension to this experience.  It is hard to describe how meaningful it is to be noticed by so many of the folks we have known and cared about over more than six decades.  It is easy to feel very isolated when spending most of every 24 hours inside a small townhome.  It is hard to feel isolated when reading comments of so many who wish us well.

It struck me today that it is a time of anticipation.  So many things are converging on the next few days.

  • The Neurologist okayed the removal of one of Mary Ann’s long time meds.  It is called Amantadine.  Its purpose is to reduce the dyskinetic movements produced by years of taking the main Parkinson’s med, Sinamet.  Dyskinesias are the wavy  movements that are apparent when Michael J. Fox is on television.  Those movements are not caused by the Parkinson’s but by the medication that gives basic mobility.  The Amantadine can trigger hallucinations and fainting spells (Orthostatic Hypotension).  Both are major problems for Mary Ann.  We will see if the trade-off is worth it.  We have stopped the Amantadine and we are waiting to see how Mary Ann will fare.
  • We are anxiously awaiting our Daughter Lisa’s arrival late tomorrow evening.  We both love having our children with us.  Lisa lives a ten hour drive away.  On that account it is a special treat.  It will be good for both Mary Ann and Lisa to have a couple of days of one on one time.
  • I am anticipating almost three days of solitude at St. Francis of the Woods Spiritual Renewal Center in North Central Oklahoma.  I will hike and read and pray and sleep and listen to music and look for birds and varmints of all sorts.  I will walk for hours and let the endorphens wash over my brain.  I will think about where we are in our lives and how to better deal with it all.  The reading will include devotional material, the Scriptures, a couple of books that deal with Quantum Physics and Theology. I will do each thing if and when I choose.  For a few hours the locus of control will shift from external demands to internal needs.
  • I am anticipating, assuming it works out, time talking with as good a friend as a person could have.  Many years ago John and I spent hours talking as he was going through the loss of his wife to Cancer and I was trying to come to terms with Mary Ann’s Parkinson’s.
  • I am anticipating a visit at our house tomorrow afternoon from a couple of people on the Staff of a local Hospice program.  They now have access to all of Mary Ann’s doctors, and whatever information they can gather from them.  I will, of course, have many questions.  There are certain criteria that must be met to be served by Hospice.  Actually, I would like very much to be told that Mary Ann is not yet eligible for Hospice.  This is a time we would love not to measure up.
  • I am anticipating the delivery of materials tomorrow and the beginning of the construction on our new sun room, which will become interior space in the house.  When it is done, we will be able to see from the inside of the house the waterfall project that was done six months ago in our back yard.  Since we are here pretty much 24/7, we want the best and most nurturing environment possible.  I am bummed that the project will begin while I am gone.  The weather here forced the later beginning time.
  • I am anticipating sitting with Mary Ann (depending on how she is doing) and Daughter Lisa and Son Micah this Saturday evening to talk about Hospice, especially the prospect of putting in place a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order.  This has been a tough journey for the kids.  Gratefully, they are committed to whatever seems best for both Mary Ann and me.

The day went pretty well today — better than I expected since she is in the hallucination cycle.  She went to her Tuesday morning group and tracked well there according to Mary, who sits next to her.  There was some intestinal activity, but since a number of the ladies in the group have served as Volunteers with Mary Ann, Eva and Mary managed to deal with the situation. While Mary Ann was meeting with hergroup, I enjoyed some time talking over coffee (PT’s of course) with the Pastor who is now in the position of Senior Pastor from which I retired.  It was a good time together.

Mary Ann wanted to go to McFarland’s, the restaurant at which we were eating when I decided that it was time to retire and be with Mary Ann full time.  I thought again how grateful I am to God that the decision was so crystal clear.  It took approximately 13 seconds to finalize that decision as I watched Mary Ann struggling to eat.  Today she struggled again.  She got nothing in her mouth until she finally agreed to allow me to feed the hamburger to her.  I had long since finished my meal.  With my help she was able to consume two quarters of the hamburger.  She had some left over Baskin & Robbins ice cream from the freezer when we got home.

Later we managed to get out to the grocery and buy lots of food, especially ingredients for Lisa to use to make some things for our home freezer that I can thaw and just pop into the oven.  That is a tremendous help to us, since I am well-known for my lack of skill in the kitchen.

Supper was another challenge, but she did get some food down.  She then ate the new two scoop B&R treat that we had brought home this afternoon.  Are we bad or what!

Tonight the dreams and hallucinations are active.  She called me to come in and said, “I am awake, but I don’t know how to get up.”  She thought it was daytime.  She had one of the dreams that she cannot differentiate from reality.  I was taking a Call (another position at a church somewhere), and we had to get ready to leave.  There was a hug and a kiss when I told her I am not going anywhere, I am for her and her only.

Well, there is no telling what tonight and tomorrow will bring, but whatever it is, we will make the best of it, grateful for the time together.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

February 28, 2010

Sleeping, Thinking About Hospice

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Relationship Issues, Sources of Strength, Therapeutic Activities | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

She is sleeping; I am thinking about Hospice.

She has been sleeping for 24hours other than about an hour doing food and pills this morning (about 11:30am) and one trip to the bathroom this afternoon.  I wake her enough to give her the 1/2 Sinamet every two hours.  That pill is for keeping mobility.  While she hardly needs mobility when sleeping, without the Sinamet, she stiffens up and becomes very uncomfortable.

I have now found something that I can cook for Mary Ann that she seems to like very much.  I do a very skillful job, and the result, I must admit is very tasty.  I get a slice of bread out of the package, toast it to perfection, butter the toast from corner to corner, slather on some super-chunk chunky peanut butter and top it with some of Maureen’s homemade preserves.  I cut it into quarters and hope I don’t get my fingers bitten as I help her eat it.

She had juice, a container of yogurt, the PBJ on toast, and that is all in the last 24 hours.   So far I have not been able to get her to get up even for a commode trip, let alone some supper.  It may happen yet.  It is 8pm at the moment.

It just popped into my mind that this is sort of like riding some sort of tilt-a-whirl.  I almost go crazy with the hallucinations, praying that she will take a nap, and my heart sinks when she sleeps so long, fearing that she is not going to get up.  We have been on this ride long enough, that I don’t lose my bearings as we swing one way and then the other, but I have to tell you it sure isn’t as much fun as riding the tilt-a-whirl (not that I can remember riding one — I probably would have thrown up — I was mostly a roller coaster guy in my younger years).

While she has been sleeping, I have been thinking, or maybe it would be more accurate to say, feeling.  So many times in my ministry I have tried to help people deal with hearing the word “Cancer” in a diagnosis.  Minds immediately fly to the worst case scenerio for how things will go.  While that may be the way things go, the word “Cancer” spoken as a diagnosis does not determine an outcome.  It has implications for outcomes, but ask any Cancer survivor about some of those possible outcomes.

Well, the word “Hospice” carries with it for me the weght of many visits to people in our local Hospice House, whose stay most often varies from hours to days, and then they are gone.  I have ministered to people for forty years with most of those entering a hospice program reaching the end of their lives not long thereafter.  While I realize intellectually that there are folks who have been enrolled in hospice programs for years, my gut has no clue about that.

In addition to the gut reaction, there is the harsh reality that Mary Ann has been declining at what seems like breakneck speed.  She has bounced back from so many medical problems that would have taken someone with less strength of will, part of me is just waiting for her to rally, as usual.

This time she seems to be moving past the point of being able to return to the level of functionality we enjoyed just a few months ago.  I will happily eat those words if a week from now she is her old feisty self.

Today, as I had time to immerse myself in the implications of “Hospice,” I did what I usually do, what I think should be done, I felt the feelings that come with the potential loss.  I grieved.  I have been down this road before, more than once.  The memory that surfaced today was the memory of sitting in an empty emergency room about four years ago at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, while Mary Ann was somewhere else in the hospital receiving a test of some sort.

We had flown to Tucson to attend a gathering of Lutheran Seniors at a large retreat center there.  On the plane trip down, Mary Ann began having some congestion, I am convinced due to the poor air quality in the airplane.  As the days went by, it got worse until we decided to call an ambulance.  I remember looking back from the passenger seat of the ambulance to see the one EMT in the back trying to deal with Mary Ann’s arms and legs flying this way and that, because of the dyskinetic movements produced by the Parkinson’s meds.

As I sat in that empty emergency room, a thousand miles away from anyone I knew, any family, the doctor and nurse had just left.  The doctor told me that the X-ray had shown her lungs to be completely white.  She would most likely be on a ventilator by morning.  I asked if it was time to phone the kids to get them to come, implying, of course that otherwise they would not see her before she died.  The answer was, of course, yes.  I called them.  They each got on a plane and came, Lisa bringing a little one with her.

I had what seems like an eternity in that room, sitting by myself.  The feelings were powerful, the moment surreal.  Today, I remembered what it felt like to think about losing Mary Ann.  I have written at least one post almost a year ago that included a desrciption of some time thinking about her eventual departure.  While a few hours from now Mary Ann may be irritating the Hell out of me getting up and down and up and down (which at this point I think I would celebrate), it seems very possible that we are approaching the beginning of the end.

I need to tell you that my heart is aching as I am writing those words.  I don’t mean to sound dramatic.  I will be fine.  I am just describing feelings as I am experiencing them.  This is what it means to be alive!  Mary Ann is still alive and may be for a long time.  If she is not, if I am not, it is still all right.  We are secure beyond our time here.

She just got up to use the bathroom and get a drink of water.  She was not hungry and is in bed again.  It is about 9pm.  She was lucid and did not seem to be hallucinating.

After a while, I put on the CD by Lisa Kelly, one of the Celtic Woman group.  As I listened to it again, most of what is on it is relevant for someone thinking about a life’s partner, as well as the need to let go and the challenges associated with doing so.  In the song “May It Be” there is a refrain, “a promise lives within you now.”  As I listened to music that resonated with my feelings, I thought about how trite and shallow and sentimental music can be when it seeks to manipulate the feelings of listeners.  I realized that what makes such music meaningful is only real life, lived with all the struggles and mundane tasks adding depth to what could be shallow and meaningless.

Let me say it this way.  With all my self-doubt and lack of confidence, painful flaws and weaknesses, guilt feelings about all that I have not done that I should, especially in showing Mary Ann and my Children how much I love them — with all of that said, I am keeping my promise to Mary Ann.  That promise lives within me now and it is not just a feeling. It is being lived hour by hour and day by day.  I hope at some level Mary Ann feels secure in that promise.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

February 27, 2010

Neurologist’s Office Called

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Information on Parkinson's, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

The fax is working!  It seems to be a great way to maximize the quality of the communication with the doctor.  Even though Mary Ann’s appt. is not until Monday, the Neurologist, Dr. Pahwa, has read the fax.  Through his Assistant, Stepanie, he contacted us by phone with a couple of things to think about before Monday. 

The first is that we think about whether or not we will want a referral to a Psychiatrist to deal with the decisions about what meds will serve best in dealing with the hallucinations.  I will, of course, ask for a referral to someone who knows Parkinson’s Disease Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia and what differentiates it from Alzheimer’s Dementia.  It needs to be someone with a large enough patient base of those with Parkinson’s Disease Dementia to be able to speak from experience as well as from book learn’n.

The second suggestion was to think about a referral to a Hospice program.   Medicare and many other insurer’s require a prognosis of six months or less.  I have not yet phoned a Hospice program to be sure what their requirements are, but the marketing materials often talk about a Palliative program that is a longer term intervention that provides a transition to the full Hospice care.  

Having been a Pastor for forty years, I have interacted with Hospice and many who have used it.  The reactions have been almost unanimously positive.  Many in the online Caregiver Spouses group have used Hospice.  Most in that group have had positive experiences. 

Whatever insurance and Medicare do or do not require, there is an expectation that the person being enrolled will not be resuscitated if they experience a cardiac arrest.  There is the rub.  I am not sure that Mary Ann and I are ready for that.  Four months ago, I doubt I would have seriously considered it.  Now, as much as she has declined in the past few months, I am willing at least to consider it.  I am not sure Mary Ann would be willing to accept a DNR order.   Actually, not long ago, our Daughter-in-Law had relayed a suggestion to us from a friend who had read this blog.  That suggestion was to check into hospice.  At that time I started thinking again about the DNR issue.  Mary Ann has declined considerably since that suggestion and its consideration. 

This Wednesday evening, our Daughter, Lisa, will arrive from Louisville, KY, to stay with her Mom for three days, while I have three days of respite at a Center for Spiritual Renewal in a beautiful rural location in north-central Oklahoma. 

In talking with Lisa this evening about the Hospice suggestion, she admitted that it was something she was intending to bring up during her visit.  She has been an Administrator at a very large CCRC, mult-layered complex for older adults.  She supervised the construction and staffing of a dementia building there.  She has also served on the Staff of a Hospice program in South Carolina, working with Volunteers. 

My hope is that our Son, Micah can come from Kansas City so that we can all talk about the matter of Hospice and the DNR that will be required if we choose to enroll MaryAnn.   Our Daughter, Lisa, and our Son, Micah have been a tremendous support.  I respect their ability to process the options with wisdom and rational thought laced with love and concern for both Mary Ann and me.  

Last night was another difficult one.  She was up for a number of times, not as many as some nights, but at least six or eight times.  There were dreams to be dealt with.  She needed to get up very early again, but this time a little single serving applesauce won us another hour or so of sleep. 

One of the times, around 6am, I heard her and awoke to see her standing by the bed.  I rushed over to see what she needed.  I asked if she needed to use the commode.  She seemed to say no, but then talked very fast with slurred words that were unintelligible to me.  She did that a second time.  I tried to manipulate her to sitting back down on the bed. 

It was not until the moment I reached around and got her moving into the sitting position that I realized that she had pulled down the pj’s and disposable and there was soft stool to be dealt with (sorry!).  There followed moving her quickly to the commode, changing clothes and rinsing out bedding so that it could be washed. 

At that moment I started thinking about how to title this post in a way that would change yesterday’s title “Difficult Day” to whatever comes after that that would indicate the next level of difficulty. 

Gratefully, the day improved some.  Actually, Mary Ann had a pretty good day.  I was glad for that since friend Jeanne had visited last week and Mary Ann slept almost entirely through the time she was here with Mary Ann.  Jeanne had a good part of the day able to interact with Mary Ann today. 

One odd moment came when I returned from some errands to find Jeanne very excited about the fact that our Daughter, Lisa was, according to Mary Ann, pregnant.  Mary Ann was convinced that I had told her Lisa was pregnant.  She, of course is not pregnant.  The fact that there simply are no boundaries between dreams and reality for Mary Ann creates some very interesting and sometimes bizarre results. 

Mary Ann is still in hallucination mode, but it has been a little more manageable today.  She did nap for a time this afternoon.  She ate very little supper and was not interested in my help.  She did not even eat the ice cream treat from Baskin & Robbins.  That actually is distressing since I have counted on at least being able to get some calories in by giving her ice cream.   Mary Ann’s recent weight loss seemed to Lisa  be especially relevant to the discussion Hospice Discussion.

Mary Ann is in bed now, and has not so far needed my intervention.  That has no bearing on how the rest of the night will go, but it is allowing me to write this post with fewer interruptions.   Here is hoping for a few hours of uninterrupted sleep tonight.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

February 21, 2010

Chocolate Boost and Ice Cream?

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Relationship Issues | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Maybe that will be the formula, chocolate Boost and vanilla ice cream blended together.  We now have both in the house — just this afternoon — haven’t tried it yet.  She let me feed her the yogurt at breakfast, so she had that and some juice.  After a long nap, we headed out to Perkin’s and ordered the usual, for her three buttermilk pancakes and a half order of bacon.

The last time we were at Perkin’s, I seem to remember her letting me put the bites of pancake into her mouth.  This time she refused.  I suspect that the number of small pieces that made it to her mouth could be counted on one hand.  Finally, she let me at least hold the bacon up to her mouth so that she could eat most of the two pieces she was served.

We went to the grocery after leaving Perkins.  I bought lots of ice cream (bad for me, good for her) so that no matter what she did not eat, there would always be that choice.  I had posted a request in the online Caregiver Spouses group for a good tasting supplement to use for Mary Ann, one their Loved Ones had enjoyed.  Two of the three responses mentioned Boost.  We had tried Ensure a few years ago and at least at that time, it tasted very chalky to us.  Mary Ann was not interested in that option.

Even though we had eaten only an hour or so before, I asked if I could get her some Sesame Chicken from the Chinese food counter at the grocery.  I just wanted to get something, anything, into her stomach.  She decided that she did want the Chinese food. At first, she would not let me help her with the food.  Finally she did let me help and she got a reasonable amount down.  Later when it was time to go to bed, she wanted a single serving Tapioca pudding, even though I offered ice cream.  That seemed a little bizarre.

As to how last night and today fit into the sleep versus hallucination days and nights, it was almost constant hallucinations.  Last night, she was up very many times early in the night with all sorts of the usual hallucinations.  It was not a good night at all.

She got up early, as usual after a bad night.  At one point during that early time, she just began talking as if we were in the middle of a conversation, saying that I could begin calculating the rent.  On pursuing what she was talking about, she said, “well we know where this is going.”  I assumed she was talking about some option for full time residential care for her.  No, she was referring to the rent for a place for her, since I was moving out.  (Don’t expect consistent logic in hallucination/delusion thinking.)

I recognize that these are hallucinations/dreams/delusions and come from random thoughts firing.  What I am concerned about is how sad and scary it must be for her to have moments when she is convinced that she is being abandoned.  Oddly, in the last weeks, since that one especially powerful Sunday morning experience at the lake, I have been consistently more thoughtful and patient with her.  Maybe losing Grumpy Caregiver has unsettled her world — as in when the normally thoughtless husband suddenly brings flowers home for no obvious reason.

As usual, she lay down shortly after morning juice, yogurt and pills for a nap. This time, I went into the bedroom to lie down also.  I decided that I had better use the time to get some of the sleep missed last night.  (Yes, I am listening!)

After a couple of hours, she was crying out loud as she was dreaming.  When I went over to talk with her, this time it had to do with a conference one of our kids and spouse were having working out their divorce.  I never found out which of the kids was in the dream. I got her up, dressed and hair washed — then to Perkin’s.  Both our kids and spouses have the sort of marriages any of us would want for our children.  There is nothing floating in the air to trigger Mary Ann’s fears.

Hallucinations were pretty constant when she was awake.  Tonight they are continuing.  She fell once while I was not in view of the monitor screen to get to her fast enough to keep it from happening.  She said she was up to brush her hair.  She wanted to put her jeans on.  Again, even though it was 9:30pm and dark, she thought it was the morning.  She wanted me to whisper when I talked to her so that the people would not hear.

I am hoping for two or three good nights, since she usually has much less problem with the hallucinations when she is sleeping well.  When the sound sleeping comes, it tends to steal from us the days as well.  When she is sleeping during the day, I am grateful to have relief from the intense and constant needs, and I am also very grateful to have her here with me in the house, but there is a sense of being trapped and alone.  Since I thrive on solitude, it is not a major issue, just a sometimes uncomfortable awareness.

In March, it will be twenty-three years since her diagnosis with Parkinson’s.  The Parkinson’s has been joined by the major heart blockages with a hospital stay that unraveled my ability to cope, the life-threatening pneumonia on a trip to Tucson with phone calls to the kids to come since she might not survive, the stroke that came a couple of months after that, now the Parkinson’s Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

This has not been an easy journey for Mary Ann especially but also the kids and me.  I am grateful now to have only the challenge of doing a good job of supporting Mary Ann as she deals with all of this, rather than at the same time having the challenge of serving a parish responsibly as Senior Pastor.  With that said, the journey now seems at some level to be still more difficult than much of what has gone before.  What’s more is that what we are experiencing now seems to be just the beginning of much more difficult times — at least judging from what others have gone through with their spouses who are experiencing some form of Lewy Body Dementia.

Gratefully, whatever comes will come one day, one hour at a time. We need only the strength to deal with each moment as it comes.  That is the way it is for all of us whether we know it or not.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

February 2, 2010

Two Nights of Sleep!

Posted by PeterT under Daily Challenges, Family, Help from Others, Meaningful Caregiving, Practical Tools for Coping, Relationship Issues, Sources of Strength, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

Again last night she slept from around 8pm to 9am this morning.  She was very sleepy, but she got up for pills and food before Bath Aide Zandra arrived.  Zandra chuckled that she seemed to sleep through the shower, hairwash and dressing time.

While Mary Ann was with Zandra, a friend from our Kansas City crew of friends of some 35 years called just to check in and provide some words of concern and support.  It helps to know there are people who are aware and concerned.  There are so many who are in difficult times, many worse than ours by far.  A word of support to someone you know can make a difference.

After her time with Zandra, Mary Ann sat in her chair, head down, dozing more until I got her to the table for lunch at about 1pm. She ate reasonably well at lunch.  When she eats on her own with no help, it takes her almost an hour to eat a meal.  Then she watched television for an hour before we took a trip out that we have been waiting at least a year and a half or two years to take.  The nearby Baskin & Robbins that closed then, has been remodeled and enlarged. It opened today!!!

Mary Ann had two scoops in a cup, Gold Medal Ribbon and Peanut Butter and Chocolate.  I ordered what I have been planning for weeks to have the first day it opened, a Hot Fudge Sundae made with Nutty Coconut ice Cream.   Yes it was as good as always.  Mary Ann allowed me to feed her the ice cream even though we were in public.  Ice Cream trumps pride.

I assured the owners that I would be one of their best marketing people.  I had met the owners when we were forced to drive to the other side of town to get our Baskin & Robbins fix when the one close to us closed.  They now own both franchises.  Owner Steve mentioned that the day or so before, he had been outside the new store when someone drove by, opened her window and yelled out that her old Pastor was excited about them opening.  That would be me!  Maybe, if I play my cards right, there will be a free dishes of ice cream for Mary Ann and me some time.  I am not counting on it.  They are likely to need every penny they can find to make this work.  I seem to remember hearing that ice cream places have generally fared well during the downturn in the economy.  I may be wrong about that, but it would not surprise me.

After we returned home, Mary Ann sat in her chair and moved back into dozing position.  She did grab a large stuffed frog that Becky and Chloe had brought for her Saturday night.  Our Daughter, Lisa, who supervised the building of a state of the art dementia building at a large CCRC (multi-layer of care facility for the older population) she helped administer, mentioned to them that sometimes it helped residents with dementia to hold a stuffed animal on their lap.  It helped keep them from trying to get up and it gave them something to hold on to.  Mary Ann hung on to the frog and it ended up serving as a place on which to rest her head.

Mary Ann ate supper by herself, another bowl of the meatball, sauerkraut, and veggie soup.  She went in to get changed for bed shortly after eating.  She has now had her meds and seems to be sleeping soundly.

The last two days have been easier caregiving days for me.  I still would like for her to be more active during the day so that we could get out and do some things.  I get out some when Volunteers are here, but that does not get her out and active.

I am still sort of reeling from last weeks craziness, and certainly do not want to risk repeating it.  At the same time, I want her to have the best quality of life possible at each point in her trip with this disease as a passenger. I will give this medication time for her body to adjust, then look at the possibility of reducing the dosage some to see if she can be more alert without triggering the hyperactivity and hallucinations.

My motives are at one level selfish.  I have a need to feel good about myself, to have purpose and fulfill that purpose successfully.  For those selfish needs to be met, I need to provide Mary Ann the best possible experience.  What is good for her fulfills my selfish need.  I also do love her very much, and it hurts my insides when she is not okay.  In addition I was raised in a family that holds honor and honesty in high regard.  Our last name can be traced back centuries, Norman originally, settling in Cornwall England. I have a great, great…Grandfather who was a hero of the Revolutionary War. We pass his sword from oldest son to oldest son. It is in my oldest brother’s closet.  Our ancestral Coat of Arms has written on it “Honor and Honesty.”  All that is to say, I keep my promises.  Mary Ann and I meant our marriage vows.

If you want to write a comment about this or any of the posts on this blog, look to the column on the right side of this page, titled “Recent Posts,”  click on the name of a post and you will find a box at the end of that article in which you can write a comment.  Clicking on the title of the post you are reading will accomplish the same thing.  Comments are appreciated.

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »