The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
Over the last few months, one thing has become increasingly clear and that is that my mom is one fall away from another head injury or a fractured or broken bone. That is what I am desperately trying to avoid! (Everybody knock on wood right now!) I breathe a sigh of relief every few hours that go by if I don't receive an emergency call. Truth is, I am most relaxed between 8-11:30 am each day when I know Sheri is there taking care of my mom!
On Mother's Day (the day after the Frozen movie), Kristin and I made our way back to my mom's for another visit and to bring some gifts. We scored major points with my mom (not that I needed any -- I have plenty!) by bringing her a Vernors (Detroit's famous ginger ale) Slurpee from 7-Eleven. It is a new Slurpee flavor and we knew she would like it and she did! We also gave her a new sweater and robe and nightgown. She liked it all and since it was such a nice day outside we decided to give the wheelchair a test drive and take Grandma outside for some fresh air! Kristin thinks the wheelchair is pretty cool and interestingly my mom has not once complained about getting into a wheelchair. We forgot to grab Grandma's sunglasses on the way out, so it may look like she is mad, but she is actually squinting and can't see a thing! Kristin was very helpful and we had a nice visit!
The next morning, on Monday, I met with the doctor at my mom's senior community and brought him up to date on my mom's health, falls, and the NPH testing she is in the midst of. He was supportive and understood.
Then on Tuesday, I was back to pick up my mom for the "Gaitrite" (walking) test at the fancy hospital. Interestingly, I got a call when I arrived in my mom's parking lot asking if I wanted to move the test to June 4th (the date of her last two tests). They are nice about trying to consolidate appointments, but since I was already there and I don't know where my mom's health will be from one day to the next, I decided to continue with the day's appointment so I could check one more off of the list. This time I had Sheri and the wheelchair, so getting her to the car was a breeze. Getting her into the car is a bit difficult as she seems a bit weak and not as able to boost herself into position.
On the way, I received a text from my brother saying he was going to visit my mom. (He works a 4-day work week, rotating days off.) When I stopped for a light, I texted him to come later since I was taking her for testing. The drive to this hospital is about 30 minutes and about 15 minutes after I texted him it happened... I got a flat tire!! A totally flat tire when I was only a half mile from the hospital! Luckily I was able to pull into a condominium complex off of the busy road!! My mom was kind of funny as she sensed my concern and mumblings under my breath! I called my brother (afterall he was going to see my mom anyways!!?) because I suspected he would not be too far from where I was. He came and rescued us. We got my mom into his car and I drove to the appointment while he stayed back with my car and put the spare tire on for me! In the end, I was barely 30 minutes late for the appointment and they were understanding of our dilemma and took us right away.
This testing involved my mom walking with little to no assistance down a long floor mat
hooked up to a computer to measure my mom's walking. I was surprised she did pretty well with the nurse holding only one of her hands. Of course, "Muffin" was her incentive to walk to the end. She had to do it three times and then we were done! The whole thing took less than 15 minutes.
Now, I initially had thoughts of walking my mom through the shops and hospital, but now I had my tire to deal with. Shortly after we were done, my brother drove my car up to the hospital and took my mom back to her apartment in his car while I went and got my tire fixed.
Over the last few months, one thing has become increasingly clear and that is that my mom is one fall away from another head injury or a fractured or broken bone. That is what I am desperately trying to avoid! (Everybody knock on wood right now!) I breathe a sigh of relief every few hours that go by if I don't receive an emergency call. Truth is, I am most relaxed between 8-11:30 am each day when I know Sheri is there taking care of my mom!
On Mother's Day (the day after the Frozen movie), Kristin and I made our way back to my mom's for another visit and to bring some gifts. We scored major points with my mom (not that I needed any -- I have plenty!) by bringing her a Vernors (Detroit's famous ginger ale) Slurpee from 7-Eleven. It is a new Slurpee flavor and we knew she would like it and she did! We also gave her a new sweater and robe and nightgown. She liked it all and since it was such a nice day outside we decided to give the wheelchair a test drive and take Grandma outside for some fresh air! Kristin thinks the wheelchair is pretty cool and interestingly my mom has not once complained about getting into a wheelchair. We forgot to grab Grandma's sunglasses on the way out, so it may look like she is mad, but she is actually squinting and can't see a thing! Kristin was very helpful and we had a nice visit!
The next morning, on Monday, I met with the doctor at my mom's senior community and brought him up to date on my mom's health, falls, and the NPH testing she is in the midst of. He was supportive and understood.
Then on Tuesday, I was back to pick up my mom for the "Gaitrite" (walking) test at the fancy hospital. Interestingly, I got a call when I arrived in my mom's parking lot asking if I wanted to move the test to June 4th (the date of her last two tests). They are nice about trying to consolidate appointments, but since I was already there and I don't know where my mom's health will be from one day to the next, I decided to continue with the day's appointment so I could check one more off of the list. This time I had Sheri and the wheelchair, so getting her to the car was a breeze. Getting her into the car is a bit difficult as she seems a bit weak and not as able to boost herself into position.
On the way, I received a text from my brother saying he was going to visit my mom. (He works a 4-day work week, rotating days off.) When I stopped for a light, I texted him to come later since I was taking her for testing. The drive to this hospital is about 30 minutes and about 15 minutes after I texted him it happened... I got a flat tire!! A totally flat tire when I was only a half mile from the hospital! Luckily I was able to pull into a condominium complex off of the busy road!! My mom was kind of funny as she sensed my concern and mumblings under my breath! I called my brother (afterall he was going to see my mom anyways!!?) because I suspected he would not be too far from where I was. He came and rescued us. We got my mom into his car and I drove to the appointment while he stayed back with my car and put the spare tire on for me! In the end, I was barely 30 minutes late for the appointment and they were understanding of our dilemma and took us right away.
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| With the Potholes Around...it was bound to happen! |
This testing involved my mom walking with little to no assistance down a long floor mat
hooked up to a computer to measure my mom's walking. I was surprised she did pretty well with the nurse holding only one of her hands. Of course, "Muffin" was her incentive to walk to the end. She had to do it three times and then we were done! The whole thing took less than 15 minutes.
Now, I initially had thoughts of walking my mom through the shops and hospital, but now I had my tire to deal with. Shortly after we were done, my brother drove my car up to the hospital and took my mom back to her apartment in his car while I went and got my tire fixed.
Soooo glad my brother rescued us and was off work that day!!
4 comments:
I'm glad that you got rescued and that you made it to the appointment even though you were a bit late.
Funny about the tire, I had the same thing happen to me not long ago. A little piece of sharp metal got lodged in my rear tire and my tire went flat as a pancake.
Your daughter is gorgeous and that smile is priceless.
I think your mom like to have her around.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no fall.
Hugs,
JB
I have been trying to catch up with friends tonight. I have enjoyed catching up with you and how your mother was doing. I can relate to some of it with the issues I have dealt with at the nursing home. Today was the day and he got sick when we were waiting for his supper. Needless to say I took care of it, but had a melt down for a few minutes. It just gets so frustrating at times. I will keep praying for you and your mom. Hugs and Prayers from Your Missouri Friend.
Cindy, I'm just getting caught up here. My Mom had one of those belts (we call them transfer belts) and they have about six different loops to grab. They were great for helping mom up or down stairs and if she was going to fall. I hope there are no more falls. So scary. And it's good if they can keep her walking more as she needs to maintain that muscle tone as long as possible
The weather looked beautiful in those shots! I hate flat tires! I had one in Feb. and it was cold and my spare was also flat...not fun! Glad the testing went well and I think your Mom looked very pleased with her presents and treat!
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