Living...Laughing...Loving...

The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
     It was a relatively quiet couple of weeks as far as my contact with my mom. I stopped by a few times bringing some more supplies and to drop off three new long sleeved shirts Megan and I bought for her at Kohl's with my 30 percent off.
     As happens many times, on one visit my timing brought me there at her lunch time. I had just come from an appointment and decided not to interrupt her lunch. This allowed me to do a quick tidy of the apartment and be in and out relatively quickly. I thought my mom would call me once she saw the three new shirts I left laying on her couch. I never heard from her. I called the next day and she said, "oh, I hung them up". I told her she should also wear them. She said she "assumed" they were from me.   Well, ok.
   I also had the opportunity to stop over at my mom's previous condo to pick up a few things. That condo and the work required to clean it out continues to hang heavy over my head. It is not a one person job. In addition to millions of other things, my mom has been "collecting" buttons since waaaay before Pinterest was around. I decided to bring her collection home and made her a little button tree. It's a little sloppy and not color coordinated, but I know she will like it -- especially when I tell her it's from her button collection and her pins. So, I repurposed them -- it's the thought that counts, right?

So, as I said, things were fairly quiet until a week ago Sunday, I was out shopping and my husband called and said the Medical Team had called to say my mom had fallen. I called them back, and they said they had found my mom on the living room floor when they went to get her for lunch. They said she seemed ok and she told them she was dizzy. She went to lunch after that. I asked them to keep an eye on her, etc... She always tells them "not to call me" because she doesn't want to worry me. Well, I need to know and, yes, it still worries me. (Especially since I had plans to be a short distance away on a "girls night" that night -- and my brother was "up north" for the week -- as he often is.) When I called her later she sounded fine. I did not even bring up the fall, but right away she said "I'm fine, I'm fine". At least she remembered she had fallen!!?
Well, then on Tuesday I got another call from the Med Team. Apparently while my mom was doing her physical therapy, the therapist said she began taking unusual small walking steps. She was also a bit agitated and her vitals were slightly elevated. I told them she had done that before, "stutter steps". When my mom first moved into the American House, this was happening with her. I also told them my mom may have experienced a seizure. She has a small seizure condition in relation to her prior stroke and surgery. I made sure they checked her vitals again and checked her for stroke symptoms. My mom does take medication for all of these things. Beyond that, there is not much that can be done except to make sure she is not having another stroke or unless it continues for a long period of time. All of this has my nerves a bit shot because I never know when my mom will lose her ability to walk and things like this serve as a reminder. Notice I said when, not if. I am told this will happen. Later, the Med Team called again and told me her walking was still questionable. They were going to have a skilled nurse check her out. Whatever it was, it resolved itself and she is doing better.

Still on that roller coaster ride of being a daughter and caregiver...and as a fan of roller coasters, this one is not my favorite.