What a week we’ve had! We returned from the trip to Florida last week and, as I mentioned a few posts ago, I found the caregiver’s rings that Mom tucked away. Every day since then has brought something new!
Our trip was a first. My sister has spent weekends with Mom to let us get away but this time, we had a Visiting Angel helping too. During our trip, the VA stayed with Mom all day on the weekdays and made sure she had her breakfast, lunch and snacks. The VA also took care of changing socks and Depends and did the normal bathing on Thursday. My sister took care of dinner and stayed the nights and also took care of the weekend.
It sounds simple enough but oh my goodness, we rocked Mom’s world!
Prior to the trip, Mom would get up in the morning and dress before coming out to breakfast. On our return, she started coming to breakfast in her nightgown. Breakfast and changing of socks and Depends weren’t horrible but I had a few days of Nasty Mom and Throwing Mom about various things. One day I tried to help her with her blind and you would have thought I committed a crime! Oh my goodness!
Another day I mentioned that we were going to go to the grocery store and the next thing I know I hear her rummaging around in her room. She had laid out on her bed nightgowns, hats, purse, hairbrush, sweater, etc. When we returned from the store, she said, “We probably missed them.” When I asked who, she said “they” were coming to pick her up. Wanting to get that over with, I told her “they” cancelled. “Well, they didn’t tell me!” she said. I replied, “They cancelled yesterday.” “Well, why didn’t they tell me?” she said. Me, “I don’t know.”
That seemed to lay it to rest for the moment but for a few days she would spend some time gathering things in her room for when “they” came to get her. When I told her she lived here, she would go back in her room and put it all away again.
We experienced the “stealing” I told you about in a previous post a few more times. One day I noticed that the basket that holds our Wii games was missing. Sure enough, I found it in the bottom of her closet. Just yesterday a battle ensued when I found her stuffing VHS tapes and a DVD into a Puffs box that she likes use to keep her “things” by her chair. I stopped her before she managed to break the DVD and had to tear open the box to get the items out. Yelling, throwing and stomping back to her room was the result when I told her I had to get rid of it because I had to tear it open.
Eight days later we are getting back to normal – or whatever normal is when dealing with dementia! J
No comments:
Post a Comment