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
Monday September 30th 2013
Mom had the PT and OT over this morning and they did get mom
up on her feet standing mostly holding her own weight up herself. She was up for only a few seconds but today
she did stand a little longer and did take a step so some improvement. The speech therapist also stopped by this
morning to check on how mom is swallowing to make sure it is not going down the
wrong tube. The nurse also stopped by
around noontime to check moms INR and it was 3.1. Mom is still eating around 1000 calories but
today we mostly feed her. For a while
this evening she was sound asleep.
Friday September 27th thru Sunday September
29th
Mom still has good and so so days. We put her in the chair for a few hours each
day and normally feed her when she sits in the chair. Mom will feed herself if left alone for awhile
at least then we finish feeding her. She
is still eating around 1000 calories a day and trying to keep her drinking
fluid. On Friday and Saturday nights
it’s just the one caregiver and I to change and clean mom as well as moving her
every 2 hours. This is to try and save
mom and me some money.
Thursday September 26th 2013
The PT came out today and between the PT and caregivers they
got mom up on her feet for a few seconds then mom sat up by herself on the side
of the bed for 15 minutes. They had her
in the chair for a few hours as well. Mom
is being changed about every 2 hours and rolled every 2 hours when she is in
the bed. So mom is getting a feel
stronger a little each week but it will take time. I enjoyed hanging out with mom tonight she is
getting spoiled with all the attention she gets but then she is worth it.
Wednesday September 25th 2013
The OT had mom sitting on the edge of the bed today and mom
was sitting up for about 30 minutes without help. She then napped some after the OT was done.
We are also having mom sit in the chair for about 2 hour intervals using the
lift to get her in the chair. Mom seems
to be getting stronger with times of weakness but overall getting
stronger. It will be awhile for her to
get back to walking but she will get there I’m speaking that into her
future.
Saturday September 21st thru Tuesday
September 24th 2013
On Saturday I had the foot doctor come to the house and trim
moms toe nails. Mom is getting stronger
overall still weak but then remember she has been bed ridden since Labor Day
weekend so it will take awhile even a couple of months or more to get back but
I’m determined to give her that chance.
Mom was feeling weaker on Monday after being up a lot over the weekend
but was feeling better today. Mom is
getting a lot of one on one care by people who care about her and that will
help get her back if anything will. I
have experience myself of how you will push if you have loving around you when
you feel weak or when you are a child which is where mom is mentally.
Friday September 20th 2013
Mom was awake most of the day today and evening being rather
chatty. The nurse stopped by today and
the PT moms INR count was down so we readjusted the amount some to try and get
it back up. The PT had mom sitting on
the edge of the bed on her own but mom did not have the strength yet to
stand. When they put weight on her legs
they got very wobble. Mom did sit in the
chair for a couple of hours.
Thursday September 19th 2013
Mom continued to do better today sitting herself up and
talking clearer still getting better and closer to herself before the hospitals
hopefully walking some at least in a week or 2.
Wednesday September 18th 2013
We brought mom home today she was home around 4pm. She was very perky and talkative with the
girls and even aware enough to tell them she pupped so they changed mom. This was the most aware mom has been since
before the first time to the hospital.
Mom was even helping to sit herself up in bed by pulling on the hand
railings. Mom even took the dish of food
out of the caregivers hand and feed herself for a while. We sat mom in the chair for dinner using the
lift. Mom ate real food all day today
and last night before that she was on a fluid diet mostly. After dinner mom slept some during the
evening.
Tuesday September 17th 2013
Went in again shortly after lunch to moms hospital
room. They are hoping to be able to let
her go home tomorrow afternoon. I spent
most of the day with mom she again today was alert for her and awake most of
the time I was there.
Sunday and Monday September 15th and 16th
2013
I took mom to the ER and Christian NE Sunday at midnight
moms stomach was swallowing up too much but after several tests and cat scan
they found nothing so I took mom back home then at 8am mom started throwing up
and had a small fever so I took her this time to Mercy Hospital and they ended
up emitting her so my and moms Sunday was spent in the ER and Hospitals. Then I went to work Monday in the morning
before heading out to the hospital around lunch time. They found moms blood count was down to 1.5
instead of 2.0 on her blood clots so the amount the hospital last Monday said
to take was wrong. So they need to get
that count up to 2.0 first. I spent the
afternoon Monday and evening at the hospital with mom she was alert and even
moving her legs around on the bed. I
should say she was alert of the things around her and even a bit playful.
Saturday September 14th 2013
Mom was fairly talkative today and we feed her real food
instead of baby food tonight for dinner and she liked it. The girls got mom out of bed and put her in
the chair using the lift. I actually
slept in some today first time in a long time.
I spent a lot of time with mom as well as the girls mom is getting all
kinds of attention. I did leave some
today to get groceries and another trash can we do use a lot of depends because
we do not let mom sit in her waste. I
will get up earlier tomorrow to go to church.
Friday September 13th 2013
Mom sat in her chair for about 2 hours today when the PT was
here. They used the lift to raise her
into the chair. We been having problems
with the bed yesterday and today they replaced it the electrical wasn’t working
correctly. They also finally brought
over yesterday the crank to raise the bed up higher to make changing
easier. I have had 2 girls here 24/7 to
help and it seems to be helping mom get better she is getting more
attention. I will get some more time to
play with mom myself this weekend since I don’t have to go to work. Mom is getting a little better each day.
Tuesday thru Thursday September 12th
I have had mom home now since Monday night. We got a lift from medicare on Wednesday and
the OT Wednesday and PT today both helped show how to use the lift and had mom
in the chair about 1 or 2 hours each day.
Mom is improving since she has been out of the hospital and is more
alert and playful. Still a ways to go
but it is nice to see she is improving more each day. She is liking being back home I and the girls
I have helping me are giving mom a lot of attention and loving.
Thursday thru Monday September 9th
Thursday night I went over to the hospital to visit mom
after work for a few hours the same on Friday before coming home and eating
dinner. Then on Saturday I spent most of
the day visiting mom in the hospital until 7pm the same with Sunday. Then on Monday we finally got to bring mom
home getting home around 5:30pm. I had
Ashley start tonight at 5pm she will be working the evening and graveyard
shifts. For the short term at least I’m
have 2 people helping mom 24 hours a day.
Then we will see were it goes from there and how mom does.
Wednesday September 4th 2013
Mom is still in the hospital but looked better when I saw
her around dinner time after work. Larry
also spent some time over there today as well. They said hopefully mom can come
home in a couple of days. Larry and I
then ate dinner when I got home. We
watched TV and talked until I went to bed.
Tuesday September 3rd 2013
Mom is still in the hospital and will be for a few
days. They found blood clots today in
both of her legs. I spent most of the
day sitting with mom the morning she was being tested for different things then
had lunch while I was there. Today she
spent most of the day sleeping. My
brother Larry flew in for a few days so I could go back to work.
Monday September 2nd 2013
I spent most of the day at the hospital with mom. She was starting to get better after they
started the antibiotics. This afternoon
she was starting to get back to her normal awareness but not there yet. She still couldn’t walk though. I just spent the evening relaxing and
watching TV when I got back home.
Sunday September 1st 2013
Again I spent the day at the hospital. It was a good thing we didn’t bring mom home
yesterday. This afternoon mom got a
fever so they took another urine test this time it did show the infection that
was there before which is what I thought the problem was on Friday. So I felt better they finally found the
problem. I got home about 7:30pm ate
then did some grocery shopping.
