Just Keep Swimming...

It's been a little while since I've blogged. It's been a rough couple of weeks and I've been sick, while trying to get my Mom adjusted to the new place. What a battle. She's just fighting her caregivers tooth and nail on some things, and I know it's because she feels like she's lost all of her independence (which she has). Mornings seem to be the roughest time for her. She has never been one who likes anyone telling her what to do, so it's been a bear...to say the least. She doesn't like that they wake her up at a certain time, doesn't want help in the shower (although it takes her a million years in there, and I can see why they'd want to move her along a bit), doesn't want them to tell her what to wear (although she comes up with some really "special" ensembles lately), etc. It's just exhausting. It's exhausting for her, the caregivers and myself. She calls me in hysterical tears saying how she "can't take it anymore", but then she reminds herself of people in our family who have struggled with things before her. This disease is so awful for everyone involved, and her progression into this stage just seemed to happen so suddenly. According to the chart on www.alz.org, she seems to be between stages 5 and 6. It's to the point where she's realizing that she's losing her sense of freedom and of self, and it's so sad. She told me this morning that she just wants to feel like she's contributing around the house, but they won't let her help with anything. I sent an email to the boss and asked if she could help with some of the simple tasks of housekeeping, so that my Mom can feel like she's useful. Hopefully, that will help.

I just finished the book Learning to Speak Alzheimer's by Joanne Koenig Coste & Robert Butler. I highly recommend it! It really gave me great insight into the disease and provided possible ways to communicating with my Mom. I borrowed The 36 Hour Day by Nancy Mace & Peter V. Rabins, and it was helpful. I didn't enjoy that one as much, because it seemed like more facts & figures to me. There were great ideas for activities with Alzheimer's patients toward the back though.

It's been a really rough couple of weeks, but as Dory Fish says in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming...just keep swimming..."

Finding the fun:

1. Actually getting a chance to take Mom to the movies & lunch. Things felt semi-normal again.

2. Taking a walk and enjoying the sky & puffy clouds with my Mom. It's adorable that she thought one of them looked like a puppy.

3. Heath Klondike bar and brownie sundae mental health breaks! ;)