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
Sunday September 30th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I had my friend Patti over while I went to
church. I did not like this service
message but it’s only 2 I did not like in over a year and this was a backup
pastor. I ate brunch with my normal
friends after the service. It was a
cloudy day but temps in the 70’s. Patti
was able to get mom to take all her pills so I just got mom dressed when I got
home. Mom was watching TV and napping
when I got home. I talked to my brother
Paul over SKYPE this afternoon after church and before our drive. We drove along the river road part way to
Grafton IL. Today we did see a sailboat
and a barge heading up river plus several speed boats. We did not see very many motorcycles or
people out on the bike/hike trail. We
also talked about the trees and houses on the cliff. We talked about our normal amount. I fixed us a snack when we got back and then
mom napped some before dinner. So the
last time mom ate anything was at 6pm and she went to bed at 12:30am. We spent the evening watching TV and laughing
with mom napping a little less tonight.
Mom needed her normal amount of instruction and help when it came to
changing her.
Saturday September 29th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I got mom up a few times
overnight but we got up for the day at 10:30am.
I got mom feed, dressed in time for her haircut today at 12:30pm. Today mom was fairly easy going with getting
her haircut and washed. The girl at the
shop timed it today when we were the only people there and bought mom some
cookies these 2 things helped kept mom in easy going mood. Then after coming home for a bathroom break
we took our first drive of the day. It
was a partly sunny day and temps in the 70’s.
We drove along the river road part way to Grafton IL. Mom did nap a little on the drive but when
she was awake we both were talkative at least for her. We talked about the houses on the cliff,
boats and tress mostly. We did see
several boats today but no sailboats or barges.
A fair amount of motorcycles not too many people out on the bike/hike
trail. The trees are changing colors or
at least a few are. I fixed lunch when
we got back home with mom falling asleep at the table in between sips of soda
she does nap at the table after eating and before finishing her drink. I had mom go to the bathroom after lunch and
she fell asleep in there as well which she does a lot. Mom has been sleeping more and more over the
past month or so. After she got out of
the bathroom we took a second drive to both Sioux Passage and Sunset
parks. Mom napped some on this drive as
well. We did see 5 deer in Sioux Passage
Park. We talked about our normal amount
on this drive mostly about the houses and trees. I fixed dinner when we got back so the last
time mom ate anything was at 6:30pm. Mom
did fall asleep some after eating dinner and before she finished her soda. Then I had mom go to the bathroom but this time
she did not fall asleep in the bathroom but she did nap most of the evening as
we watched TV. I forgot to mention we
talked to my brother Larry over SKYPE last Thursday night. Mom went to bed at 10pm and needed a little
less instruction and help than her normal.
Friday September 28th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this morning sometime. I left at 5am to go to church for the men’s
fraternity group which will last every Friday morning the next 24 weeks with 4
weeks off during Xmas. I then ate
breakfast and took a nap even over slept so I didn’t get in any hiking then ran
some errands and getting home at 3:30pm.
It was a partly sunny afternoon with temps in the mid 70’s. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
withdrawing and Patti said mom was nice but quiet when she was here. I took mom for a drive shortly after I got
home to Sioux Passage Park and we did see some deer in the park. We talked about some of the trees that were
changing and ended up talking about our normal amount. We ate dinner when we got back so the last
time mom ate anything was at 5:30pm and she went to bed at 11pm. We just spent the evening watching TV with
mom napping on and off. Mom did her
thing of walking around the house for about 30 minutes at 9pm. In getting changed tonight mom needed her
normal amount of instruction and help.
Thursday September 27th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this morning just before
Andrea got here. Mom was up, dressed and
feed by the time I left. I had my
breakfast while mom had her lunch. It
was a cloudy day but no rain. I just had
enough time to go grocery shopping before getting back by 2:30pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
biddable. Mom was napping in the living
room when I got home. I had mom go to
the bathroom when I today then she napped a little before we went for a
drive. We drove over to Sioux Passage
Park but did not see any deer today. We
talked about the houses and trees mostly.
Some of the trees are changing colors.
I’m not sure how the trees are going to change or how colorful they will
be since we have been in such bad drought conditions around here. We had dinner after our drive so the last
time mom ate anything was at 5:30pm. We
spent the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing. Mom did nap a lot this evening.
Wednesday September 26th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. I had my
breakfast today as mom was finishing her lunch.
I was able to get in a short walk before doing some errands and getting
home by 5pm. I walked along the Missouri
river in the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area.
Mom was watching TV when I got home I actually got home at 4:30pm then
took a shower while Patti could watch mom.
Andrea said her word of the day for mom was helpful and Patti said hers
was corporative. I do that a lot when I’ve
been hiking in the woods. Since mom had
just gotten out of the bathroom before I got home we went for a drive at
5pm. It was a cloudy rainy day so I
wanted to do the drive before any rain started.
We drove over to both Sioux Passage and Sunset parks. We both were a little more quiet than normal
on the first part of the drive. We ate
dinner after our drive so the last time mom ate anything was at 6:30pm and she
went to bed tonight at 10:15pm. We spent
the evening watching TV and laughing mom did do her thing of wondering around
the house at 9pm for a few minutes. Mom
did not nap much this evening and needed less instruction on changing.
Tuesday September 25th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident overnight in her bed. I waited too long to get her up and when I
did her chuck and top sheet were wet as well as her nightgown and panties. So I changed her and the bed. It was a rainy day and night today. I met up with a friend for lunch and it was
great talking to him someone I can carry on a conversation with. Mom was up watching TV when I got back home
at 2:30pm. Andrea said her word of the
day for mom was weak. Since it was
raining this afternoon we didn’t take any drives just watched TV and mom napped
a little before dinner. The last time
mom ate anything was at 6pm and went to bed at 1am. Mom did wonder around the house a little at
9pm but spent most of the evening watching TV and laughing. Mom needed her normal amount of help changing
into her nightgown.
Monday September 24th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. It was a
beautiful day with temps in the 70’s.
Since I didn’t get much sleep Saturday night then was up 22 hours
straight getting to bed at 6:30am I slept in today until noon. I was able to get in a short hike though
before getting back by 5pm. Andrea said
her word of the day for mom was chatty.
Mom and I had dinner when I got home so the last time mom ate anything
was at 5:34pm and went to bed at 11pm.
After dinner and a bathroom trip we went for a drive. Tonight we drove to both Sioux Passage and
Sunset parks. Mom was also fairly chatty
on our drive tonight. We then spent the
rest of the evening watching TV and laughing with mom not taking any naps
tonight. Mom did start wondering around
the house at 9pm for about 30 minutes.
Mom needed a little more help than normal tonight changing.
Sunday September 23rd 2012
Mom did have a bowel accident while I was at church. I had my friend Patti over while I went to
church. This week the service was much
better than last weeks. I then had
brunch with some friends like I normally do.
I had Patti crush some of mom’s pills into applesauce as part of her
breakfast then I gave mom the rest of the pills when I got home. Mom ended up chewing the pills I gave
her. It was a sunny day with temps at
68. Shortly after I got home we took a
drive along the river road part way to Grafton IL. Today we saw several more boats on the river
including 3 sailboats. There were
several people on the bike/hike trail as well everybody getting out enjoying
the great weather and temps. We talked
less on this drive. Mom ended up napping
after our drive until dinner time. The
last time mom ate anything was at 6pm. I
had mom go to the bathroom after dinner then we took a second drive to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area where we did see some deer. We talked about the views and did talk about
our normal amount. Mom over the past few
weeks is getting confused more on getting out of the car when we get home. She seems to be sleeping more over the past
couple of weeks. We spent the rest of
the evening watching TV and laughing with mom napping some until she went to
bed at 1:30am.
Friday & Saturday September 21st and 22nd 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident Saturday morning before I
got back home. I had Andrea do her
normal hours on Friday but then had my friend Patti stay until Saturday morning
at 9am. I left the house at noon on
Friday and spent the rest of the day and night with a friend until Saturday
morning at 9am. We just hung out until
dinner then watched movies Friday night and talked more. It was great to spend a whole day talking to
someone that I could carry on a conversation with. It was also nice to get a night away. Andrea had said her word of the day for mom
was huggy. Patti said mom was okay but
was up late. Mom was up when I got home
so we just ate breakfast and I gave her the pills. Today mom did chew the 3 pills we do not put
into applesauce. After a bathroom trip
we took a drive along the river road part way to Grafton IL. We only saw 2 boats and 2 barges on the
river. Also there were very few
motorcycles or people on the hike/bike trail.
We did talk about our normal amount on this drive. I then fixed lunch when we got back
afterwards mom napped the rest of the afternoon until dinner. It was a mostly sunny day with a high of
68. The last time mom ate was at 6:15pm
she had spent an hour in the bathroom before dinner mostly sleeping. We took a second drive after dinner to both
Sioux Passage and Sunset parks. We did
see deer in Sioux Passage Park. We also
talked about the views, houses and trees.
We ended up talking about our normal amount. We then spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing. Mom also
napped off and on until she went to bed at 11:30pm. We me today mom has been sweet but sleepy I
think the girls were having a party while I was away LOL.
Thursday September 20th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, dressed and feed by
the time I left. I picked up my van from
the shop then I went for a short hike before grocery shopping before getting
back at 2:30pm. It was a sunny day with
a temp of 79. This is my last day before
going over to a friend’s for a night out first time away for overnight in 2
plus years. Andrea said her word of the
day was talkative. Mom and I took a
drive when I got home along the river road part way to Grafton IL. Today we saw several barges most were
anchored waiting to go down stream through the dam. We saw 2 sailboats and 1 speed boat on the
river but only 2 people on the hike/bike trail.
We also talked about the houses on top of the cliffs in Alton IL. We talked about our normal amount. I fixed dinner shortly after we got back and
the last time mom ate was at 5:30pm. We
also took a second drive after dinner to both Sioux Passage and Sunset
parks. We saw 3 deer in Sioux Passage
Park and talked about the views as well.
We talked about our normal amount.
We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing. Mom didn’t nap this evening but she did
wonder around the house for a few minutes at 9pm. Mom went to bed at 2am and needed her normal
amount of help changing.
Wednesday September 19th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. I went for a
short hike then shopping before getting back by 5pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
friendly and Patti agreed. It was a
sunny day with a high temp of 77 a great day for a hike. I’m looking forward to my first night away
from the house in 2 plus years on Friday night.
I will have my friend Patti over that night while I go over to a friend’s
house and have a guy’s night out. Mom
and I ate dinner at 5 so the last time she had anything to eat was at 5:30pm. We went for a drive after dinner to both
Sioux Passage and Sunset parks. We saw
deer in Sioux Passage Park and also talked about the views. We talked about our normal amount. After our drive we watched TV and laughed
until mom went to bed at 11pm. Mom did
not nap much this evening but did wonder around the house for a few minutes at
10pm. Mom needed less than her normal
amount of help getting changed. She even
took her pants off herself. Overall mom
was in good spirits with me but then I like to act silly and that does make mom
laugh.
Tuesday September 18th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, dressed and feed by
the time I left. I just had enough time
to run some errands before heading back at 2:30pm. Andrea said her word of the day today was
sniffy Mom and I went on a drive to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area around
3pm. It was a mostly sunny afternoon
with a high in the 60’s very nice. We talked
a lot on this drive most on the views and houses we did see a deer in the conservation
area. We ate dinner shortly after our
drive so the last time mom ate was at 5:30pm.
We then went for our second drive at 6pm. We drove to both Sioux Passage and Sunset
parks. We saw people in Sioux Passage
Park riding horses but no deer. We both
were quieter on this drive but still talked about our normal amount. We then spent the rest of the evening
watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed at 10:30pm. Mom needed less help tonight changing and was
in a good mood.
Monday September 17th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. I went out for
lunch then a short walk before getting back home at 5pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
pleasant. Mom and I ate dinner when I
got home so the last time mom ate anything was at 5:30pm. It was raining a little so we did not take
any drives but spent the evening watching TV and laughing until mom went to bed
at 11pm. Mom needed about the normal
amount of help changing into her nightgown.
Sunday September 16th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I had my friend Patti over while I went to
church. This turned out to be the worse
service that I have been to at this church but then you get some bad ones now
and then and this was the only bad one in over a year that I have been going
there. This was the first time I didn’t
feel up lifted after the service. The
worship part was great though. I ate
brunch with some friends after the service.
It has been a cloudy day but no rain and a high of 75. Patti said her word of the day for mom was
sleepy. Patti was able to get mom to
take all her pills today and mom was in her house coat so I didn’t need to
change her. Mom went to the bathroom
shortly after I got home then we went for a drive. Our first drive we went along the river road
part way to Grafton IL. We only saw one
sailboat on the river no other boats. There
were only a handful of people on the bike/hike trail. We also talked about the houses on top of the
cliffs and talked about our normal amount but mom was more aware than normal. I fixed lunch when we got back then after a
bathroom trip we took our second drive of the day. On this drive we drove over to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area. We talked
about the views and mom was fairly alert for her. Mom then napped a little before dinner. The last time mom ate anything was at
6pm. We watched TV and laughed the rest
of the evening and mom did nap a lot this evening. I even napped some this evening. Mom went to bed at 1:30am and was fairly easy
to get her to brush her teeth. Overall
mom has been more alert than normal, sweet and sleepy today.
Saturday September 15th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. I had my friend Patti over this
morning while I went to a men’s breakfast over at Grace Church. They had the pro bowl football player Aeneas
Williams talk at the breakfast. It was
cool to hear what he had to say. Patti
did feed mom breakfast and crushed the pills into applesauce and I gave mom the
other 3 pills when I got home. Mom was
napping when I got back home at 11am.
Today I put mom into her house coat so I will not need to change her
into her nightgown tonight or do any changing tomorrow. It was a cloudy day with a high of just 69, I
like that temp. We took our first drive
around 1pm. We drove along the river
road part way to Grafton IL. Today we did
not see very many boats on the river and no barges or sailboats. Very few people on the hike/bike trail. There were almost no motorcycles out today.
We talked about the houses on the cliff and the views. We talked about our normal amount. Mom napped a little when we got back then we
took a second drive around 4pm. On this
drive we drove over to both Sioux Passage and Sunset parks. We did see deer in Sioux Passage Park but we
talked less than our normal on this drive.
We finished our dinner at 6pm. We
spent the evening watching TV and laughing with mom napping on and off. Mom went to bed at 1am. Overall mom has been sweet and happy today.
Friday September 14th 2012
I think mom just didn’t get her panties and pants down far
enough when she sat down on the towel and she got them a little wet this afternoon. Mom was up, washed, dressed and feed by the
time I left. I ate breakfast while mom
ate lunch today before I left. It was a
partly sunny afternoon with temps in the 70’s.
I went over to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area and hiked along the
Missouri river. I enjoy every time I get
a chance to get out hiking. Andrea said
her word of the day for mom was affable.
Mom was in the bathroom when I got home at 4:30pm and that’s when she
had her bladder accident. I just put mom
into her nightgown but after thought I should have put her into a house coat so
she can go outside and to bed without changing.
We ate dinner at 5pm and the last time mom ate anything was at 6pm. We spent the evening watching TV and
laughing. Mom did nap a little tonight
and wondered around the house for a few minutes at 10pm.
Thursday September 13th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, dressed and feed by
the time I left. I just had enough time
to do some grocery shopping before getting back by 2pm. It was a partly sunny day with temps in the
80’s. The pastor came by at 2pm for
about a 45 minute visit. Andrea said her
word of the day for mom was cheerful and somewhat talkative. We took a drive after the pastor to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area. Mom was more
talkative on this drive than her normal.
We mostly talked about the views and houses. I fixed dinner shortly after we got back so
the last time mom ate anything was at 6pm and she went to bed at 1am. We spent the evening watching TV and laughing
with mom napping on and off. Mom needed
less instruction this evening on changing into her nightgown she took off her
shirt and put the nightgown on without any help or being told what to do.
Wednesday September 12th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this morning around 9am she
was allowed to sleep to long it was about 6 hours and that’s too long. Again today I ate my breakfast with mom
eating her lunch. It was a sunny day
with temps in the mid 80’s. I drove over
to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area and took a hike along the Missouri river
then ran an errand before heading back home at 5pm. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
struggling. Patti was getting mom into
the bathroom when I got home then we ate dinner. So the last time mom ate anything was at
5:30pm and she went to bed at 12:30am.
We took a drive after dinner to both Sioux Passage and Sunset parks. We both were fairly quiet on our drive. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV
laughing and mom napped off and on all evening.
Mom did not do any wondering around the house tonight. With me mom was about her normal easy to
laugh and fairly sweet. Mom did need
about her normal amount of instruction when it came to changing into her
nightgown.
Tuesday September 11th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, dressed and feed by
the time I left. I ate my breakfast with
mom as she ate her lunch. I just had
enough time to run some errands before getting back home at 2:30pm. Mom was napping in the TV room when I got
home. Andrea said her word of the day
for mom was trusting. Mom and I took a
drive around 3pm to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. It was a sunny day with temps getting to
85. We left the windows open again today
letting the breeze blow through the house.
We both talked a little less than normal on our first drive of the
day. I fixed dinner shortly after we got
back so the last time mom ate anything was at 6pm. We took a second drive shortly after dinner
to both Sioux Passage and Sunset parks.
We did not see any deer tonight but did talk about the houses and
trees. Mom did nap off and on during the
rest of the evening. We talked to my
brother Larry tonight over SKYPE. Mom
went to bed at 11pm and needed a little less instruction than normal on
changing.
Monday September 10th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. It was a sunny
day with temps in low 80’s. I went over
to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area and hiked along the Missouri river. It was great getting out into the woods
listening to the birds sing and the breeze blowing through the leaves. It sets my spirit free and energies me. Mom was up in the living room when I got home
at 4:30pm. Andrea said her word of the
day for mom was vague and Patti said mom was fine. We ate dinner shortly after I got home so the
last time mom ate anything was at 5:45pm and she went to bed at 11pm. We took a drive around 6:30pm to both Sioux
Passage and Sunset parks. Mom even
pointed to the entrance to Sioux Passage Park just before I turned in, she
recognized I turn there at least tonight.
She does that every once in a while when we are driving somewhere. We did see a deer in Sioux Passage Park
tonight. We talked about our normal
amount on our drive. We then spent the
rest of the evening watching TV and laughing.
With me mom was affectionate until about an hour before she went to bed
then she was restless and a little fussy.
She did her thing of wondering around the house for about an hour before
bedtime. I had to give about my normal
amount of instruction and help on getting mom to change but mom was fairly easy
to get to brush her teeth.
Sunday September 9th 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 up
eating breakfast when I left but Patti said mom went back to bed after
breakfast and was still in bed when I got home at noon. I got mom to take her 3 pills with some
difficulty that she takes by mouth whole when I got home then got mom dressed
for a drive. It was a beautiful sunny day
with temps in the 70’s. We took our
drive along the river road part way to Grafton IL. I really enjoy this drive plus it gives mom
and I more things to talk about. We saw
several sailboats and speed boats out on the river with one barge going
upstream. There were several motorcycles
and people on the hike/bike trail. Seems
like a lot of people got out to enjoy the perfect day. Mom and I also talked about the houses on the
cliffs as well. Mom was more talkative
on this drive than her normal. Mom then
napped a little when we got back before eating a later dinner. The last time mom ate anything today was at
6:45pm and she went to bed at midnight.
Mom did nap a lot this evening after dinner but then she is 90 now. Mom was a little more confused and fussy than
normal when it came to her changing into her nightgown. Overall though with me mom was happy but
sleepy.
Saturday September 8th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. The cable company finally got
the cable and internet up and running by 11am yeah finally we have TV and
internet again after 2 ½ days. I got mom
up several times overnight but we didn’t get up for the day until 11am. After a bathroom stop I fixed breakfast for
us. I went ahead and crushed all but 3
of mom’s pills and put them into applesauce.
I had to feed the pills to mom 1 at a time making it like a game for the
3 pills. It was a beautiful sunny day
with a high of just 75 first time in a while I was able to turn the AC off and
open up the house. I got mom dressed
after breakfast with the normal amount of help and instruction. We took a drive after the pills along the
river road part way to Grafton IL. We
saw several boats on the water but no barges.
The sailboat we saw leaning into the wind healed over made me feel
homesick for sailing. There were a whole
bunch of people on the hike/bike trail out enjoying the best day in several
weeks. Also there were several
motorcycles riding the river road as well.
Everybody including, us were out enjoying the great day. Mom napped a little then went to the bathroom
before we headed out for an early dinner.
I took mom over to our favorite Mexican restaurant and had our taco
salads with ice cream for dessert. Of course
we had our cinnamon and honey on the ice cream yummy. The last time mom ate anything today was at
4:30pm. We took a second drive around
6:30pm to both Sioux Passage and Sunset parks.
We ended up talking about the normal amount on our first drive but we
both were quieter on the second drive.
Mom enjoyed both of our drives. We
spent the rest of the evening watching TV and laughing whenever I acted
silly. At least it is still fairly easy
for me to get mom to laugh. Mom did a
first tonight when she came out of the bathroom she had taken off her pants and
just had her shirt and panties on. So I
just had her take the shirt off and put on her nightgown since I was going to
put mom to bed anyway so in a way it had worked out that she took the pants
off. Overall mom has been in good
spirits today happy I would say.
Friday September 7th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. Again today I
ate my breakfast with mom eating her lunch.
It was a sunny morning and early afternoon before the rains moved
in. Today was another day without cable
or internet good old Charter cable LOL.
I went over to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area for a short walk along the
Missouri river before doing some errands.
When I got home at 4:30pm mom was napping in the living room. Andrea said her word of the day for mom was
dazed and I think mom slept most of the time Patti was here. Andrea had also said mom chewed one of her
pills which was the first time this week she did that. I had the Plummer over to fix the hoses under
the sink that were leaking. He was over
in 30 minutes after I called him to bad Charter cable isn’t that quick. It started raining before the Plummer left so
mom and I didn’t take any drives today.
I fixed dinner after the Plummer left so the last time mom ate anything
was at 6:30pm. Both of us spent the
evening napping until I put mom to bed at 10pm.
I had my normal amount of fussing and explaining when it came to mom
changing into her nightgown. Overall
with me mom has been sweet we just napped a lot.
Thursday September 6th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, dressed and feed by
the time I left. Mom and I ate lunch
together before I left or at least she had lunch I had breakfast. I just had enough time to run some errands
before getting back by 2:30pm. Mom was
sleeping in the living room when I got home.
Andrea said her word of the day for mom was befuddled. The cable and internet were out all day and
the cable guy would not be out until after 6pm good old Charter cable LOL. So I took mom for a drive to Sioux Passage
Park around 3:30pm. Mom was happy but
quiet on the drive. I prepared dinner
when we got back so the last time mom ate anything was at 5:30pm. The cable guy got here at 6:30pm but was not
able to get it fixed because the line needed work done that he didn’t know how
to do, so no cable for 24 hours or so more.
Since we didn’t have any TV mom and I both napped most of the evening
then I put her in bed around 10:30pm.
Mom needed about her normal amount of instruction when changing into her
nightgown. Overall with me mom has been
in a great mood.
Wednesday September 5th 2012
Mom did have a bladder accident this evening after our drive
and just before dinner. So I just put
her into her nightgown before dinner.
Mom was up, washed, dressed and feed by the time I left. It was a rainy morning then the sun came out
this afternoon with temps in the 90’s. I
went out to lunch then spent the rest of my time away reading over at the
park. Andrea said her word of the day
for mom was easy going. Mom was napping
in the living room when I got home at 4:30pm.
I took mom for a drive when I got home.
We drove over to Sioux Passage Park.
We both were fairly quiet on this drive but did laugh a few times. Mom had her bladder accident shortly after we
got home so we didn’t take any more drives.
I fixed our dinner after I got mom changed into her nightgown so the
last time mom ate was at 6:30pm and she went to bed at midnight. I had to tell mom several times to brush her
teeth before the neurons made the correct connection. Mom wasn’t really getting upset it just took
awhile for the connections to be made. Mom
did wonder around the house for a few minutes around 10:30pm. Overall today with me mom has been in good
spirits.
Tuesday September 4th 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, dressed and feed by
the time I left. I just ran some errands
the time I was gone. Andrea said her
word of the day was affectionate. Mom
was sleeping in the chair in the dining room at 2:30pm. It was a partly sunny day with temps in the
90’s. We took a drive shortly after I
got home. We drove along the river road
part way to Grafton IL. The only boats
we saw on the river was one barge. We
had dinner when we got back then took a drive to both Sioux Passage and Sunset
parks. We talked about our normal amount
on both drives. We spent the rest of the
evening watching TV and laughing. Mom
did wonder around the house tonight for about 2 hours starting at 8pm. Mom went to bed at 1am.
Monday September 3rd 2012
Mom did not have any bladder or bowel accidents overnight or
today. Mom was up, washed, dressed and
feed by the time I left. I was so tired
I slept through my alarm and didn’t get up until noon and had lunch with
mom. Of course I didn’t get to bed until
almost 6am and only had 2 hours sleep Saturday night. I spent my day away running some errands
before getting back at 4:30pm. Andrea
said her word of the day for mom was helpful.
Patti was taking mom into the bathroom when I got home. It was a cloudy day then turning partly sunny
with a high of 88. I took mom for a
drive shortly after getting home to Sioux Passage Park. We had dinner after the drive so the last
time mom ate anything was at 6pm. We
took a second drive after dinner to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. We talked about our normal amount on both
drives. We mostly talked about the views
and houses. We spent the rest of the
evening watching TV and laughing. Mom
did nap a little this evening as we watched TV.
Mom went to bed at 1am and was easier than normal to get her into the
nightgown less instruction on my part.
Sunday September 2nd 2012
I’m not real sure if mom had a bowel accident overnight or
if she just didn’t clean herself very well and had scratch marks. I had my friend Patti over while I went to
church. This was a different type of
service today but one I fully enjoyed.
Today the worship was all upward the worship team sang throughout the
service. I then had brunch there at the
church with a friend after the service. Patti
said mom slept most of the time she was here.
Today Patti was able to get mom to take all her pills so I didn’t have
too. Since mom was wearing her house
coat she was ready to go for a drive. It
was a cloudy rainy day. We took a drive
shortly after I got home. We drove along
the river road part way to Grafton IL.
It did rain a little on us during part of the drive. We didn’t see any people on the hike/bike
trail and no motorcycles. We did see a
couple speed boats on the river but no barges.
We also talked about the houses on top of the cliffs. Mom did talk about her normal amount and was
in good spirits. We then napped until
dinner. The last time mom ate anything
was at 5:30pm. We spent the evening
watching TV, laughing and napping on and off.
Mom went to bed at 1:30am.
Saturday September 1st 2012
Mom did have a bowel accident this morning after breakfast. I got mom up a few times overnight but we got
up for the day at 10am. I went ahead and
crushed most of mom’s pills and put them into applesauce. Today I was able to get mom to take the other
3 pills without chewing them but I had to put them in her mouth. It was a cloudy rainy day with temps in the
80’s. I had Andrea put mom’s house coat
dress on yesterday which mom can go for drives in and go to bed in. So I did not have to get mom changed
today. We took a short drive to Columbia
Bottom Conservation Area after I got mom cleaned up from her bowel
accident. We mostly talked about the
views and talked about our normal amount.
We then napped a little before I fixed lunch. We napped some after lunch
since it was raining. I fixed dinner
around 6pm so that was the last time mom ate anything. We took our second drive of the day after
dinner the rain had stopped by then and it was even partly sunny. Our second drive we drove to both Sioux
Passage and Sunset parks. We saw several
deer in Sioux Passage Park. We then
watched TV and laughed the rest of the evening until mom went to bed at
midnight.
