Updated on May 11th 2012 my updates are in bold below
I created this BLOG in hopes that my journey with my mother and her Alzheimer’s can help others. I list my daily posts below. I wanted to explain a little about my mother Alzheimer’s. She has helped me all my life with my journey of cerebral palsy. My website that talks about my cerebral palsy and my climbing adventures is at www.timsashwood.com if you want to check it out. She is 90 years old and has had Alzheimer’s for at least 15 years now. I first noticed her memory problems back in the fall of 1997. She was able to keep driving and handling her check book until the winter of 2003/2004. She could still go on 2 mile hikes with me into 2005 and ½ mile walks thru 2008, now she mostly can only walk a few yards before her hip starts to hurt her. I moved back into her home in 2005 to help her stay in her house although I have kept my own place thru March 2011. One of the things I feel that has helped her go 15 years and still going is I’ve had people (mostly me) around her quit a bit. This helped her stay engaged with people. In 2003 she averaged people with her @90hrs/wk out of 168 hrs in a week, in 2004/2005/2006 @110hrs/wk, 2007 @125hrs/wk, 2008 @135hrs/wk. Then starting in January 2009 she has had someone with her 24/7. I started using care givers in 2005 to help and to give mom other women to talk to and get use to. Right now she can still dress and undress herself but is starting to struggle with it and needs to be told what to do most of the time. In December 2009 she started to refuse to wash herself now one of the care givers I use sponge bathes her 3 times a week. Right now mentally she is like a 3 or 4 year old girl with just a few seconds of memory. She has started to get confused with the getting undressed and dressed part but can still do it herself. She has also sometimes thought the person she sees in the bathroom mirror is someone else this started in 2010. I started using a diaper pad on mom’s bed in July 2011. In the fall of 2011 we increased the dosage on mom’s Galantamine. In March of 2012 I stopped giving her the supplements it has started to get harder to get her to take the pills. So I started just giving her a one a day vitamin instead. Then in May 2012 we have started to crush mom’s pills and put them in applesauce about 3 or 4 days a week. She loves applesauce. She can still walk on her own with no help. Here is a list of the drugs she takes for her Alzheimer’s.
•Razadyne started in 2000 then in 2011 changed to generic Galantamine
•Namenda started March 2005
Thursday May 31st 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, feed and dressed
when I got up today. I met up with a
friend for lunch. I just fixed some
sandwiches for me and we ate at his house and talked. It was good just hanging out. Then I did some grocery shopping before
heading home. It was a cloudy rainy day
with temps in the 60’s. Andrea said her
word of the day for mom was grumpy. Patti
said mom was sweet the 2 hours she was here.
Andrea said mom took her pills today and did not have to use
applesauce. Mom was watching TV when I
got home at 3:30pm. We took a drive at
4:30pm to Sioux Passage Park before dinner.
Mom was quiet on this drive but responsive whenever I said
something. During dinner mom was quiet
and the last time she ate anything was at 6pm.
We took a second to Sioux Passage Park then over to Sunset Park. Mom was quiet on this drive as well but less
responsive. We then spent the rest of
the evening watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed at 1:30am. Overall mom was quieter than her normal and
confused on during things.
Wednesday May 30th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 80’s. When I
left today I just took a drive before getting back by 2pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
befuddled. Mom was napping in the living
room when I got home at 2pm. Mom and I
took a drive at 2:30pm to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area then back
home. Mom talked about her normal amount
on this drive mostly about the views. We
both napped a little when we got back before taking a second drive. We drove over to Sioux Passage Park before
dinner. Mom also talked about her normal
amount and like on the first drive she was responsive. Mom talked a little
about the flowers on the table during dinner and the last time she ate anything
was at 5:45pm. We took a third drive at
7pm to Sioux Passage Park then over to Sunset Park before heading back
home. Mom and I both were quieter than
our normal on the third drive. We both
napped a little after our drive then watched TV and laughed all evening. Mom did do her thing of walking around the
house for about 45 minutes at 11pm. Mom
went to bed at 2pm and was a little confused on changing even tried to put her
shirt back on as soon as she took it off.
Overall with me mom has been in good spirits and a little more talkative
than her normal and her normal confusion.
Tuesday May 29th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, feed and dressed
when I got up today. It was a sunny day
with temps in the 80’s. By the time I
left this morning I only had enough time to run some errands before getting
back home by 3:30pm. Andrea was able to
get mom to take her pills again today without putting any in applesauce. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
tractable. Shannon said mom was sweet
the 2 hours she was here and that mom was up most of the 2 hours. Mom was up watching TV when I got home at
3:30pm. We went for a drive around 4pm
to Sioux Passage Park. Mom talked about
her normal amount on our drive. I fixed
dinner when we got back but I gave mom a snack at 8pm so that was the last time
she ate anything. We went for a drive
shortly after dinner and of course a bathroom trip. On this drive we first drove to Sioux Passage
Park then over to Sunset Park before heading home. Mom talked more than her normal on this
drive. We spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing with a little dancing and me being silly but it does
make mom laugh. Mom did roam around the
house tonight at 10pm for just a few minutes.
Mom also napped a little in her chair and went to bed at 1:30am. Mom fussed some on going to bed and
changing.
Monday May 28th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 90’s. I just
had enough time to take a drive before getting back by 2pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
irritable. Andrea was able to get mom to
take all her pills without putting any in applesauce. Andrea only was able to get mom half dress
mom had her pants on with her nightgown but not the shirt. I was able to get mom’s shirt on without any
trouble. We then took a drive over to
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area then back home. Mom talked a lot on this drive was happy and
alert. Mom then took a short nap when we
got back home. We then took a second
drive before dinner. We drove over first
to Sioux Passage Park then to Sunset Park.
Mom talked about her normal amount on this drive and was very
responsive. We then had dinner so the
last time mom ate anything was at 6pm.
We took a third drive after dinner and a bathroom trip. We drove over to Sioux Passage Park then
Sunset Park before heading home. Mom
talked about her normal amount on this drive as well. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV
and laughing. We did talk to my brother Larry
tonight on SKYPE. Mom went to bed at 1am
and was confused on what to do on changing so I had to tell her and help
her. Overall with me mom has been in
great spirits and a little more talkative on our drives than her normal.
Sunday May 27th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I got mom up a couple of times
during the night for bathroom breaks but we got up for the day at noon. Today I just started out by crushing mom’s
pills and put all but one into applesauce.
I fixed breakfast and today mom only had the coded aspirin and she took
it with no problem. It was another sunny
hot day with temps in the 90’s. I was
able to get mom dressed fairly easy then we went for a drive. We drove over to Sioux Passage Park then to
Sunset Park. Mom talked about her normal
amount on this drive, was alert and responsive as well. We had a snack after our drive then took
another drive to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. Mom talked a lot, on this drive and very
responsive. I fixed dinner when we got
back so the last time mom ate was at 5:30pm.
We took our third and last drive at 7pm to Sioux Passage Park. Mom was quiet on this drive and not real
responsive I think she was getting tired because she didn’t nap much
today. We spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing even dancing some.
Mom went to bed at 11:30pm and was confused on what to do on changing. Overall mom has had a good day today.
Saturday May 26th 2012
Mom
did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I got mom up a couple of times
during the night for bathroom breaks but we got up for the day at 11am.
I fixed breakfast and had a challenge getting
mom to take her pills. It can certainly
test your patience. Mom started to roll
the pills up in a napkin and take off with them. So I had to wrestle
them out of her hand or
no telling what would happen to the pills.
She had taken 2 pills before this so I ended up crushing the rest of her
pills and put them in applesauce. It was
a sunny and hot day with temps getting into the low 90’s almost setting a
record high. After the pills and a
bathroom trip I had mom get dress which went much easier than the
pills. We then went for a drive. Since it was so hot outside we just
drove
over to Sioux Passage Park the over to Sunset before coming home. This
is a short enough trip that we can make
it back home before mom needs to go to the bathroom. It was just too
hot out this early so I
wanted the only time mom is out of the car is at home. Mom talked more
than her normal and was
fairly alert on this drive. I fixed us
lunch when we got back then mom and I both took a nap in the living
room. I really did not want to have mom outside
during the hottest part of the day. After
our 2 plus hour naps I fixed dinner so the last time mm ate was at
6:30pm. We took a second drive at 7pm to Sioux
Passage Park first then to Sunset Park.
Mom was much quieter on this drive and less responsive on the first part
of the drive. We spent the rest of the
evening watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed at midnight. Mom
was fairly easy to get changed and other
than the pills mom has been in good spirits and a little more talkative
than
her normal.
Friday May 25th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 90’s. We had
a power outage so I left a little later than normal to make sure they were
working on it. I went over to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area and did a short hike along the Missouri river. Andrea said mom was sweet but bewildered as
her word of the day for mom. Andrea did
not have to use applesauce mom took all her pills today. So the only day was yesterday that Andrea had
to use applesauce. Shannon said mom
slept the whole 2 hours she was here and mom was asleep when I got home at
3:15pm. The power came back on at
3:20pm. I took mom for a drive around
4pm to Sioux Passage Park. Mom was quiet
on this drive and non-responsive for most of it. We had dinner when we got back home so the
last time mom ate anything was at 5:30pm.
Mom napped a little after dinner and we then took a second drive around
7pm. We drove back to Sioux Passage Park
and mom did talk some on this drive and was more responsive. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV
and mom napped a little until she went to bed at 11pm. It was fairly easy getting mom to change
tonight. Overall today mom has been more
bewildered and sleepier than her normal.
Thursday May 24th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, feed and dressed
when I got up today. It was a sunny day
with temps in the 90’s. It actually
tided the high. I went over to a
friend’s house for lunch and to hang out before going to the grocery
store. Andrea said her word of the day
for mom was fractious. Andrea also said
today mom only took 2 pills the rest she put into applesauce. Patti said mom slept most of the time she was
here and mom was napping when I got home at 3:30pm. We took a drive around 4:30pm to Sioux
Passage Park before dinner. Mom was
fairly quiet on this drive and not real responsive. Mom was quiet during dinner and the last time
she ate anything was at 6:00pm. We took
a second drive to Sioux Passage Park around 7pm and mom was quiet on this drive
as well but more responsive. We spent
the rest of the evening talking and laughing.
Mom did start walking around the house tonight at 10pm for about 45
minutes. Then mom napped in her chair
off and on until she went to bed at 1am.
Mom tonight took off her shirt and put on her nightgown without me
saying anything she just walked into her room and I had the nightgown laying
out on her bed.
Wednesday May 23rd 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 80’s great day for a hike. I went over to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area and took a short walk along the Missouri river before
heading back home. Andrea said her word
of the day for mom was affectionate.
Andrea and mom were watching TV when I got home at 2pm. We took a drive around 3pm to Columbia Bottom
Conservation Area. Mom talked more than
her normal and was very alert on our drive.
We were done with dinner tonight by 5:15pm. We talked about the wind blowing outside
during dinner. Then after a bathroom
break we took a second drive to Sioux Passage Park then over to Sunset Park
before heading home. Mom talked about
her normal amount on this drive. We
mostly talked about the number of cars in the parking lots. I forgot to mention earlier we talked to
Larry over SKYPE on Monday night. I gave
mom a snack after we got home from our drive so the last time she ate anything
was at 7pm. We spent the rest of the
evening watching TV and laughing. Mom
did do her thing of walking around the house at 8pm for about 30 minutes. Mom asked me a couple of times how I was
doing by my name. Overall today mom has
been more alert than her normal. It was
good to hear her call me by name. Mom
went to bed at 1am and was a little confused on taking off her shirt to put the
nightgown on.
Tuesday May 22nd 2012
Mom had a bladder accident this morning around 8:30am. She only got her panties wet and had the
accident in the bathroom so she didn’t pee on her bed chuck. Mom was up feed and dressed when I got up
today. It was a sunny day with temps in
the low 80’s. I only had enough time
this morning to take a drive before heading back home. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
willing. Mom was napping when I got home
at 1:30pm. We took a drive shortly after
I got back. We drove over to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area then back home.
Mom talked about her normal amount and we talked about the views and
trees. Then we napped a little when we
got back before taking a second drive before dinner. We drove over to Sioux Passage Park and
talked about the cars in parking lots and houses. I fixed dinner after our drive so the last
time mom ate anything was at 6pm. We
took a third drive around 7pm to Sioux Passage Park but mom was fairly quiet on
this drive. We spent the rest of the
evening watching TV and laughing. Mom
started to get restless and walking around the house starting at 10:30pm for
about an hour the same thing she did last night. Mom went to bed at 2am and was fairly easy to
get changed.
Monday May 21st 2012
Mom
did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 70’s great day for a hike. I went over to
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area
for a short walk along the Missouri river.
In addition to the animals I normally see today I saw a baby snack
slithering
away into the grass along the trail. Andrea
said her word of the day for mom was confused.
Shannon and mom were watching TV when I got home at 3:30pm. I took mom
on a drive shortly after I got home. We drove over to Sioux Passage
Park. Mom talked about her normal amount on our
drive. I fixed dinner when we got back
so the last time mom ate was 5:30pm and she went to bed at 1am. We took
a second drive at 6pm back to Sioux
Passage Park. Again mom talked about her
normal amount. We then spent the rest of
the evening watching TV and laughing.
Mom tried to start some conversations tonight but was having problems
putting her thoughts and words together.
Overall mom was in good spirits with me.
She did fuss a little on brushing her teeth and I had to explain what to
do on putting her nightgown on.
Sunday May 20th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I had my friend Patti over while
I went to church. Mom was sitting down
for breakfast when I left. After church my
friends Dan, Wanda and I had brunch at the church’s café like we normally
do. Mom was eating lunch when I got home
at noontime. Patti had put mom’s pills
in applesauce and gave them to mom at lunch since mom didn’t take them at
breakfast. I got mom dressed after I got
back and it was fairly easy but mom was a little confused on what to do. It was a partly sunny afternoon early so mom
and I took a drive. We went over to
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area stopping at the visitor center there before
heading back home. Mom and I talked a
little more than her normal on the drive and she was fairly alert. The things we mostly talked about were the
views and houses. We had a little snack
when we got back then napped a little.
We took a second drive to Sioux Passage Park before dinner. It started to rain a little on this drive
which was okay since we need some rain.
We talked mostly about the cars in the parking lots and the
flowers. We ended up eating dinner at
6pm so the last time mom had anything to eat or drink was at 6:30pm and she
went to bed at 1am. We both napped some
after dinner for about an hour then spent the rest of the evening inside
watching TV and laughing. Since it was
raining this evening we did not take another drive. Overall today mom has been in great spirits
and fairly alert. It was fairly easy
getting mom to change into her nightgown.
Saturday May 19th 2012
Mom
did have a bladder accident this morning at 11am. She didn’t get any
on the bed just on her
panties in the bathroom. So this time
she had an accident within 3 hours I was going to get her up for the day
at
11:30am but we just got up for the day at 11am instead. Mom was fussing
this morning so I just
crushed her pills into applesauce except for her coded aspirin. It even
took a while for her to take the
aspirin. It was much easier getting her
to change into her clothes. It was a
partly sunny day with temps getting near 90.
We went for a drive along the river road to the Grafton visitor
center. We saw several speed boats and
one sailboat out on the river. There
were not that many people riding on the bike trail today. The trees are
so full now that you can’t see
the houses on top of the cliffs as well.
Mom was fairly quiet for most of our drive today although she did enjoy
watching the birds flying above the trees.
I fixed us some lunch when we got back then mom took a short nap. We
took a second drive to Sioux Passage Park
before dinner. Mom talked a lot more on
this drive mostly about the cars in the parking lots and houses. We had
dinner after our drive and the last
time mom ate anything was at 6:30pm and she went to bed at midnight. We
took a third drive around 7:30pm to Sioux
Passage Park. Mom talked about her
normal amount on this drive. We spent
the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing. Mom didn’t nap at all
this evening. Mom was fairly easy to get her to change into
her nightgown.
Friday May 18th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 80’s. I was
able to get in a short hike today before heading back home. I went over to my normal spot at Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area. I hiked along
the Missouri river. Andrea said her word
of the day for mom was biddable and Shannon agreed. Mom was napping in the living room when I got
home at 3:30pm. I took mom for a drive
shortly after I got home. We drove over
to Sioux Passage Park and mom was fairly talkative. We talked about the houses and number of cars
in the parking lots mostly. I fixed
dinner when we got back so the last time mom ate anything was at 5:45pm. We talked about the flowers on the table
during dinner. We took a second drive
around 7pm. We drove to Sioux Passage
Park then over to Sunset Park. Mom was
quiet on this drive but seemed to enjoy being out. We spent the rest of the evening watching
TV. Mom started getting unsettled and
moving around the house starting around 9pm until she went to bed at 11pm. I had to help mom get changed tonight and
into her nightgown.
Thursday May 17th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident after I got back home as she
stood up from her chair. Mom was up,
feed and dressed when I got up today. It
was a sunny day with temps in the 80’s.
I just spent the day running errands until I got back home at
3:30pm. Andrea said her word of the day
for mom was pleasant. Patti said mom was
sweet even telling Patti that she likes her.
Mom was napping in her chair when I got home. After I changed her wet cloths, which wasn’t
easy we took a drive. We drove over to
Sioux Passage Park. Mom was fairly quiet on our drive. I fixed dinner after our drive and the last
time mom ate anything was at 5:45pm. We
took a second drive to Sioux Passage Park around 7pm. Mom talked a lot more on this drive than the
first drive. We talked mostly about the
houses and number of cars in the parking lots.
We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing until mom went
to bed at midnight. Tonight mom started
to put her nightgown on over her shirt but I stopped her in time. She fussed a little so I just smiled and
laughed and she then started to smile and laugh herself.
Wednesday May 16th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
sunny day with temps in the 70’s. I
didn’t have as much time today but I did get in a short hike. I went over to the Columbia Bottom
Conservation Area since it is close by.
I hiked along the Missouri river enjoying the day. You could smell some of the wild flowers and
trees listen to the birds and watch the butterflies as you hike along every
once in a while you here the water rushing over some rocks. I met a women out walking her 4 dogs so I
stopped to play and pet the dogs. She
had both small and big dogs and all liked me petting them. I do like animals. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
placid. I got home at 1:30pm and mom was
getting ready to go to the bathroom. We
took a drive over to the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area then back home. Mom talked about her normal amount on the
drive and was enjoying being out on a drive.
I fixed dinner shortly after we got back and mom was quiet during
dinner. The last time she ate anything
was at 6pm. We took a second drive after
dinner to Sioux Passage Park but mom was fairly quiet on this drive. We then spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed at 11pm. Mom got up a couple times and came in to
watch TV with me but went back to bed after just a couple of minutes. So she was a little unsettled when she first
went to bed. Mom was fairly easy to get
changed tonight.
Tuesday May 15th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, feed and dressed when
I got up today. I met up with a friend
at the ballgame. It was a beautiful day
for a baseball game it was sunny with a temp of 81. I went to the 2011 world champion St Louis
Cardinals as they played the Chicago Cubs.
This is one of the biggest and oldest rivalries in baseball. The score went back and fourth all game but
the Cardinals came out ahead in the bottom of the 9th inning. So my team won and this makes my record when
going with this friend 10 wins no loses during the regular season. I had both Andrea and Patti over today to
watch mom while I went to the ballgame.
Andrea said her word of the day for mom was affable. Patti said she and mom watched TV the time
she was here and said mom was sweet. I
didn’t get home until 5pm and had Patti warm us up some dinner before she left. The last time mom ate anything was at
6pm. Mom and I took a drive over to
Sioux Passage Park after dinner. Mom
talked about her normal amount on our drive.
We then spent the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing until she
went to bed at 12:30am. Mom was fairly
easy to get changed.
Monday May 14th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. I met up
with a friend today for lunch. Ken is
someone I know from work and we met up downtown. We went over and had all you can eat pizza it
has been a long time since I’ve had pizza and it was good. It was good getting out and talk to
friends. It was a partly sunny warm day
with temps in the low 80’s. Andrea said
her word of the day for mom was amiable.
Shannon said mom slept most of the 2 hours she was here. Mom was napping in her chair in the living
room when I got home at 3:30pm. We went
for a drive shortly after I got home over to Sioux Passage Park. Mom was pretty quiet on the drive not really
responding to me talking to her most of the time. I fixed dinner when we got home and we talked
about the flowers on the table. Mom
started to nap after dinner so we did not take a second drive. The last time mom ate anything was at 5:30pm
and she went to bed at 10pm. So I will
get her up around 1:30am for a bathroom break.
Mom was fairly easy to get changed tonight.
Sunday May 13th 2012 Mother’s Day
Mom
did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I did my normal getting mom up
every 3 to 3 ½ hours overnight. We got
up for the day at 11am. Today I just
started by crushing and putting the pills into applesauce. I only had
mom take
the coated aspirin by mouth and that was a hard job today. Today I had
to help mom by putting on her
pants or at least get them started and had to help take off her
nightgown. She was able to put her shirt on by
herself. Paul called on SKYPE after
breakfast to wish mom a happy Mother’s Day.
We then took our first drive. It
was a mostly sunny day with temps in the 70’s.
We drove over to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area stopping at the
visitor center for a bathroom break. Then
we went over to Sioux Passage Park. Mom
talked about her normal amount until the very end then she was quiet I
think
she was getting tired. We mostly talked
about the view, trees and flowers. I
fixed lunch when we got back then mom took a little nap. We took a
second drive before dinner. We drove over to Sioux Passage Park. We
talked about the number of cars in parking
lots and the flowers mostly. On this
drive mom was quieter than her normal. I
fixed dinner when we got home and mom talked about the flowers on the
table. We then talked to my brothers
Larry this evening after dinner on SKYPE.
Mom then napped on and off during the rest of the evening. We also
watched TV and laughed this
evening. Mom went to bed at 1am and was
fairly easy to get her to change into her nightgown.
Saturday May 12th 2012
Mom
did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I did my normal getting mom up
every 3 to 3 ½ hours overnight. Mom
normally spends 1 hour in the bathroom overnight I think sometimes she
falls
asleep in there. This seems to be
working so far to keep mom from having any bladder or bowel accidents.
We got up for the day at 10am. Today mom took about half of her pills
then
I had to crush the others and put in applesauce. I then got mom
dressed. I had to help her by pulling off her
nightgown then she put on her shirt.
After a couple bathroom trips we took our first drive of the day. It
was a partly sunny day with temps in the
70’s. We drove along the river road to
Grafton visitor center. Mom was fairly
quiet on the first part of the drive. She
did fuss some on going into the bathroom stall but not too bad. Mom
talked a lot more on our way back
home. We saw several motorcycles and
people on the bike/hike trail along the river road. We saw 1 sailboat
and a few speed boats on
the river with several barges. It was
simply a beautiful day. Mom napped after
we got back in her chair in the TV room I even napped a little. Since
it was such a beautiful day and I knew
tomorrow would be crowded I took mom out for Mother’s day today. We
went over to our favorite Mexican
restaurant around 4pm. Mom seemed to
enjoy it tonight as we sat at our favorite table with mom looking out
the
window at the traffic as she ate. Mom
then napped some more after dinner until 6:30pm when we went for a
second drive
to Sioux Passage Park. On this drive mom
talked a lot more than on the first drive.
She talked mostly about the views and number of cars in parking lots.
We then spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed at 11:30pm. So I will
get mom up around 3am for a
bathroom break then I will go to bed. I
had to help mom get into her nightgown tonight sje really didn’t fuss
she was
just confused. Overall today mom has
been in good spirits and her normal amount of talking.
Friday May 11th 2012
Mom
did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. It was a
partly sunny day with temps in the 70’s.
I went over to the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area for a short
hike. As I hiked I saw butterflies,
toads, birds and wild flowers which smelled good. It is great getting
into nature or gods
church. I did a little grocery shopping
after my hike. Andrea said her word of
the day for mom was unfriendly. Andrea
did say mom took all her pills today so she didn’t have to crush any.
Shannon said mom slept most of the 2 hours
she was here. Mom was napping in the
living room when I got home at 3:30pm. I
took mom for a drive shortly after I got home.
We drove over to Sioux Passage Park talking about the trees, flowers and
cars in parking lots. I fixed dinner
when we got back and mom talked about the flowers on the table. She
does like flowers. The last time mom ate was 6pm and she went to
bed at 1:30am. Mom did nap some after
dinner so we took a late drive around 7:30pm.
We drove back out to Sioux Passage Park and mom was fairly quiet on this
drive. Mom was up the rest of the
evening until she went to bed. We spent
the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing. Mom was fussy
somewhat on changing. Overall with me mom was sweet and her normal
amount of talking.
Thursday May 10th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up feed and partly
dressed when I got up today. Mom just
had on her pants and nightgown was still on.
Today was a beautiful day sunny with temps in the 70’s. I drove over to Columbia Bottom Conservation
Area for some hiking. I hiked a couple
of miles along the Missouri river. There
was even a gentle breeze blowing as I hiked along listening to the birds and
the water. I saw several toads hop
across in front of me getting out of my way.
Andrea said her word of the day for mom was contentious. Patti said mom was up and fine the 2 hours
she was here. Mom was watching TV and
still had her nightgown on when I got home at 3:30pm. I got mom’s nightgown off pretty easy of
course remember I do the thing of getting her to laugh a lot before getting her
to do something. I took mom for a drive
shortly after I got back. We drove over
to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area then back home. We talked about the views and mom talked
about her normal amount. She seemed
fairly alert on our drive as well. I
fixed dinner after our drive and mom talked about the flowers I bought her
sitting on the table. The last time mom
ate anything was at 6pm. We then took a
second drive to Sioux Passage Park and mom talked about the cars in the parking
lots and trees as well as the blue sky.
Mom was a little more talkative on this drive. We then spent the rest of the evening watching
TV, dancing and laughing until mom went to bed at 10:15pm.
Wednesday May 9th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up washed, feed and
dressed when I got up today. Andrea did
say she had to put all of moms pills in applesauce after crushing them. I went over to Columbia Bottom Conservation
Area and got in a short walk before heading back home. It was a sunny beautiful day with temps in
the 70’s. Andrea said her word of the
day for mom was engaged. Mom was
watching TV when I got home at 2pm. I
had the pastor over at 2:30pm and he was here for about 40 minutes. Mom was in good spirits while the pastor was
here and more engaged when the pastor talked to her than her normal. I had mom go to the bathroom after the pastor
left before going for a drive. We drove
over to the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area then over to Sioux Passage Park
before heading home. This time we didn’t
need to stop for bathroom break. Mom
talked about her normal amount and seemed more alert than her normal. I fixed dinner when we got back and mom
talked about the flowers I got her for Mother’s Day. The last time mom ate anything was at
5:45pm. Mom napped a little after dinner
then we took a second to Sioux Passage Park.
Mom was quiet for most of this drive.
We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing. Mom went to bed at midnight and was fairly
easy to get her to change.
Tuesday May 8th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this morning. Andrea said mom was in the bathroom when she
got here and did make a mess in her bed on the chuck. So I plan on getting mom up more times at
night again to see if that stops all these bladder accidents. Andrea said yesterday she had to put crunch 4
pills and put them in applesauce but not today.
Mom was sitting in the living room dressed and feed when I left this
morning. It was a sunny beautiful day
with temps in the 70’s. I had several
errands to run during my time away so I didn’t get in any hiking. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
helpful. Shannon said mom slept most of
the 2 hours she was here. Mom was
watching TV when I got home. We took a
drive shortly after I got home. We drove
over to Sioux Passage Park. Mom was
quiet on the first part of the drive then I got her talking some. We had dinner after our drive and the last
time mom ate anything was at 6pm. We
watched a little TV after dinner and a bathroom break before going for another
drive. It is nice this time of year we
can still take a drive in sunlight at 7pm.
We drove over to Sioux Passage Park again and this time mom was more
talkative. We even saw 3 deer in the
park. We spent the rest of the evening
watching TV until mom went to bed at 10:30pm and I got her up at 1:45am for a
bathroom break. She just went back to
bed as I’m writing this. Mom was fairly
easy to get changed tonight.
Monday May 7th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this morning Andrea said. Mom was up washed and feed by the time I got
up. Since it was suppose too rain all
afternoon I just had Andrea leave mom in her nightgown. Schatcie stopped by today for a visit it was
good seeing her. By the time I left I
just had enough time to run some errands before I needed to be back home at
1:30pm. Mom was watching TV when I got
home. Andrea said her word of the day
for mom was placid. Mom napped this
afternoon as we watched TV. I had my friend Patti over this evening for 4 hours
while I went to a paid focus group. So
Patti and mom ate dinner together tonight. I got back home at 9pm and mom was
sitting in the living room with Patti.
Patti said mom was sweet and mom even gave Patti a kiss goodbye. Mom and I then watched TV until she went to bed
at 11:30pm.
Sunday May 6th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I had my friend Patti over today
while I went to church. Mom was still
sleeping when I left for church. I met
up with my friends at church and had brunch after the service there at the
church before heading back home. Patti
had feed mom breakfast and mom was eating lunch when I got home at
12:30pm. Patti had to crunch the pills
and put them into some applesauce for moms lunch. Patti said mom was fine the 4 plus hours she
was here. It was a sunny hot day with
temps getting to 92 a new record. I took
mom for a drive shortly after I got home.
We drove over to the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. Mom talked about her normal amount and we talked
about the views and number of cars in the parking lot mostly. I gave mom a snack when we got back and some
root beer. Mom then napped some before
dinner. The last time mom ate anything
was at 6pm and she went to bed at 10pm. Both
mom and I napped a little after dinner then spent the rest of the night
watching TV and laughing. Mom really
didn’t fuss much on changing into her nightgown but did fuss on laying down and
going to sleep. She was just
confused.
Saturday May 5th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this morning around
10am. She just got her panties wet when
she was in the bathroom and today mom changed into her dry panties on her
own. I always leave a dry clean pair of
panties in the bathroom. Mom and I got
up for the day at 10am. Mom only took a
couple of her pills so I crushed the rest and put them in applesauce and gave
it to mom along with breakfast. It was a
sunny hot day with temps getting into the 90’s.
Since it was so hot I just took mom on shorter drives so I could get her
back home before she would need to go to the bathroom. This way mom would only be out of AC on the
carport. Our first drive was to Sioux
Passage Park then over to Sunset Park before heading home. Mom talked about her normal amount mostly
about the flowers and cars in parking lots.
Mom then took a nap and so did I after our drive. We then took a second drive to Sioux Passage
Park but mom was fairly quiet on this drive.
Since this weekend is the Florissant Valley of Flowers I stopped and
bought some barbeque pork steaks for dinner on our second drive. We ate dinner after our drive and mom was
quiet during dinner. The last time mom
had anything to eat or drink was at 6pm.
We started on a third drive after dinner and a bathroom break. Mom started sleeping as we were driving so I
cut the drive short. Mom spent most of
the evening napping as we watched TV. Mom
did fuss a little but not too bad on brushing and changing. Overall today mom has been nice but
sleepy.
Friday May 4th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this afternoon when I got
home. I had to help mom change take off
her pants and panties without seeing her girly parts. Mom was up washed, feed and partly dressed
when I got up today she had her pants on with her nightgown. It was a partly sunny hot day with temps in
the mid 80’s. I spent my time away getting some cards and mini roses for
Mother’s Day next weekend. Then I was
able to go over to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area and do a short walk before
heading back home. Andrea said her word
of the day for mom was aloof. Shannon
said mom slept the whole 2 hours she was here but mom got up when she heard my
voice when I got home at 3:30pm. This is
when mom had her bladder accident. I
think it was just because mom didn’t get her panties down far enough. After getting mom changed we went for a drive
to Sioux Passage Park. We talked about
the flowers and houses along the drive. I
fixed dinner when we got back and we talked about the flowers I bought during
dinner. The last time mom ate anything
was at 5:30pm. We then took a second
drive to Sioux Passage Park around 6:30pm.
Mom was also talkative on this drive as well at least for her. We then spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing until 1am. It
was fairly easy getting mom to brush and change tonight.
Thursday May 3rd 2012
Mom
did have a bladder accident overnight at 3:30am. She just didn’t get
her panties down all the
way in time so it happened in the bathroom.
Then after dinner she had a bowel accident. Mom doesn’t always
understand when I tell her
to go to the bathroom she stands at the door confused on what to do
sometimes. Tonight as I was explaining
to her she went in her panties a little.
I was able to get them down and her on the toilet before she really let
go with the bowel movement. The trick
tonight was getting her panties down without me seeing her girly parts
and
somehow I managed. Mom was up feed and
partly dressed when I left this morning.
It was a sunny warm day with temps near 90. I ran some errands before
getting back home
at 3:30pm. Andrea said her word of the
day for mom was steadier. Patti said mom
was up most of the 2 hours she was here and mom was up watching TV when I
got home. I took mom for a drive to Sioux Passage Park
before dinner. Mom was fairly quiet on
our drive but did talk about the flowers we now have outside. Mom does
enjoy flowers. I did give mom a snack tonight at 7:30pm so
that was the last time she ate anything and she went to bed at 11:30pm.
We did take a second drive after dinner first
to Sioux Passage Park then over to Sunset Park.
Mom and I talked a lot more on this drive. Then we spent the rest of
the evening
watching TV and laughing. Mom was in
good spirits tonight and was fairly easy getting her changed into her
nightgown.
Wednesday May 2nd 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up washed, feed and
partly dressed when I got up today. It
was a sunny hot day with temps in the 90’s.
I just had enough time to do some grocery shopping before I needed to be
back by 1:30pm. Andrea said her word of
the day for mom was blank. This was the
second day in a row that Andrea had to put at least some of moms pills in
applesauce after crushing them. It is
getting harder to get mom to take the pills the normal way. Mom still had her nightgown on when I got
home but did have her pants on. So
Andrea and I together got mom out of her nightgown and into her shirt so we
could go for a drive. So we took a drive
shortly after I got home to Sioux Passage Park then over to Sunset Park. Mom was fairly quiet on this drive but seemed
to enjoy it. We then took a second drive
to Sioux Passage Park before dinner. Mom
talked a lot more on this drive. Mom
does enjoy the flowers we have hanging outside.
The last time mom ate anything today was at 5:30pm and she went to bed
at 10:45pm. We did take a second drive
tonight around 6:30pm to Sioux Passage Park.
We talked about the cars in the parking lots and the houses and flowers
along the way. Mom was the most
talkative on this drive. We then spent
the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing. I had to explain what to do and help mom to
get into her nightgown.
Tuesday May 1st 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up feed and dressed when
I got up today. It was a sunny day with
temps in the 80’s. I didn’t have much
time today so I just took a drive and was back home by 2pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom in
the am was evil but then dear for the pm.
Mom was napping in the living room when I got home. We took a drive shortly after I got
home. We drove over to Sioux Passage
Park then over to Sunset Park before heading home. We talked about the houses and the geese we
saw. Mom was happy and talkative for her
on this drive. We then took a second
trip to Sioux Passage Park before dinner.
Mom and I talked about the houses and laughed a lot on this drive. Mom also mentions the flowers Andrea bought
that we put outside. The last time mom
ate was at 6pm. We spent the evening
watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed at 11pm. Mom was fairly easy to get her to change and
overall with me mom has been in great mood and more talkative than her
normal. Thank god for another good day
with mom.
