The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
After taking Labor Day off last week, I'm back! I think I needed a break from posting about my mom and all of our craziness as it seemed I had been spending a lot of time trying to keep her settled lately.
I ended up setting my cell phone alarm twice a day at my mom's lunch and dinner times. Each day for about ten days I have called at 1pm and 6pm to see if she answers. If she did not answer the phone, then I assumed she was in the dining room. The first few days, there were times she was in her room and either told me she "already ate" or had some other reason she was not in the dining room. Remember, just because she says she "already ate" does not mean she did! If she was still in her room, I would then call the Med Team (they are supposed to escort her to meals). They would either tell me she did not want to go or they would go and get her. I figured I would be the squeaky wheel and make sure they were at least trying to get her to meals. They cannot "make" her go, but they are supposed to try. It seemed as the days went on I was finding her in her room less and less. Hopefully, that means that either the Med Team became more vigilant about getting her or she was more cooperative.
As a side note, one of the times I called "The Don" was in my mom's apartment. It has been awhile since I have heard of him paying a visit. They used to "hang out" at my mom's apartment and watch tv all the time. It is that routine that I still think my mom misses and has thrown her off her "normal" routine. (Remember, his family switch his meal times so he would not be able to see my mom...ugh!! Still not happy about that!!)
I am encouraged that on a recent visit Jacob and I made my mom seemed pretty good. By pretty good, I mean she looked ok, was not in bed at 3pm (like last time) and was fairly aware.
I have also noticed that the staff seems to be more vigilant about keeping on top of my mom's laundry and bedding since I typed up a detailed "care plan" of assistance for my mom. I still plan to meet with the Med Team staff to go over this care plan and tweak whatever needs to be tweaked. I need and my mom needs to keep my mom living at the American House as long as possible and that will only work if she gets the extra assistance she needs.
Oh, and remember those shoes that my mom refuses to wear because....they are "winter shoes". Well, she remains adamant about it. She is now wearing slippers most of the time. My brother also tried to get her to wear the new shoes. She will put them on, but then on our next visit -- there they are -- back in the closet!!! Ugh!!
By the way, am I the last person to see the movie "The Notebook"?? We recently recorded it on our DVR and I finally watched it....had no idea it had an Alzheimer's/dementia element to it. Love that movie -- major tear jerker for me!!! Check it out if you haven't seen it!!!
After taking Labor Day off last week, I'm back! I think I needed a break from posting about my mom and all of our craziness as it seemed I had been spending a lot of time trying to keep her settled lately.
I ended up setting my cell phone alarm twice a day at my mom's lunch and dinner times. Each day for about ten days I have called at 1pm and 6pm to see if she answers. If she did not answer the phone, then I assumed she was in the dining room. The first few days, there were times she was in her room and either told me she "already ate" or had some other reason she was not in the dining room. Remember, just because she says she "already ate" does not mean she did! If she was still in her room, I would then call the Med Team (they are supposed to escort her to meals). They would either tell me she did not want to go or they would go and get her. I figured I would be the squeaky wheel and make sure they were at least trying to get her to meals. They cannot "make" her go, but they are supposed to try. It seemed as the days went on I was finding her in her room less and less. Hopefully, that means that either the Med Team became more vigilant about getting her or she was more cooperative.
As a side note, one of the times I called "The Don" was in my mom's apartment. It has been awhile since I have heard of him paying a visit. They used to "hang out" at my mom's apartment and watch tv all the time. It is that routine that I still think my mom misses and has thrown her off her "normal" routine. (Remember, his family switch his meal times so he would not be able to see my mom...ugh!! Still not happy about that!!)
I am encouraged that on a recent visit Jacob and I made my mom seemed pretty good. By pretty good, I mean she looked ok, was not in bed at 3pm (like last time) and was fairly aware.
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| Brought My Mom Some New Magazines...She Can't Seem to Get Enough of Them Either!! |
I have also noticed that the staff seems to be more vigilant about keeping on top of my mom's laundry and bedding since I typed up a detailed "care plan" of assistance for my mom. I still plan to meet with the Med Team staff to go over this care plan and tweak whatever needs to be tweaked. I need and my mom needs to keep my mom living at the American House as long as possible and that will only work if she gets the extra assistance she needs.
Oh, and remember those shoes that my mom refuses to wear because....they are "winter shoes". Well, she remains adamant about it. She is now wearing slippers most of the time. My brother also tried to get her to wear the new shoes. She will put them on, but then on our next visit -- there they are -- back in the closet!!! Ugh!!
By the way, am I the last person to see the movie "The Notebook"?? We recently recorded it on our DVR and I finally watched it....had no idea it had an Alzheimer's/dementia element to it. Love that movie -- major tear jerker for me!!! Check it out if you haven't seen it!!!
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| As I've Mentioned, If You Send a Card to My Mom, It's the Gift That Keeps on Giving!! This is what we found on display at our last visit!! |
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| Sadly, this is my mom's yogurt collection. Each day she brings them back from the dining room. Unfortunately, I had to throw all of these away as they expired. I hate wasting food... |
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| Don't Let Him Fool You -- Jacob loves his Grandma!! |
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| Yikes!! This Flashback is in honor of my daughter, Megan's, upcoming birthday. This is me, my mom and baby Megan the day she came home from the hospital (like me hair?) 15 years ago!! |
3 comments:
Look at all those yogurts! That too crazy. And Xmas cards - that is just too cute.
I'm glad that she seems to be doing well.
I, also, just saw The Notebook for the first time recently. Maybe the day you DVR'd it. Great movie!
I LOVE the Notebook! I cry everytime I watch it. Just got caught up on all your posts. Happy Birthday to your daughter! And congrats to her for making the volleyball team and trying something new! Good luck to YOU with that crazy schedule! Yikes!
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