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Saturday, August 3, 2013
Dear Children,
I am writing this to you to let you know how Mother is doing. I am sure that Simply a Daughter is aware of a lot that I am gong to say, but for completeness she is included.
I want to say that it is not a problem in being her caretaker. She is not disagreeable or combative and is very cooperative for the most part. Last Sunday Pastor Phil spoke on the topic "So, You Want to Follow Jesus?" After a very good sermon, he had a time of quiet meditation for each of us to ponder over how Jesus is calling us. Immediately I knew that Jesus was calling me to be the best caretaker of the one that I love the most. It was not a new idea but confirmed what I knew.
To report on how I think that she is doing: her short time memory has basically been lost. But sometimes for something that is very significant, she remembers in part. Many times when we are going some place, she will ask at least 2 or 3 times while we are in transit just where we are going. I respond each time as if she had not asked it before. It amuses me sometimes to hear her make a comment about how beautiful the sky is or how much she likes living in this area. (This I can almost predict.)
It is interesting to hear her pray before lunch (that is her time). She almost always thanks God for her and my parents who took us to Sunday School and church. Sometimes she repeats this at least 2 times. I am sure that God is aware of her condition and realizes that she is just confirming her faith in Him and is very grateful for what He has done. Most times she prays for the family and hopes that we all will be in Heaven eventually. Sometimes she even thanks God for the food. Of course I am not only evaluating her prayers but also am praying that God will help her continue to be the same or even better.
We have a lot of friends that are aware of her condition and have given us suggestions as to what they have heard that might be helpful. Consequently we are using a lot of supplements that may help her. I have not figured the daily cost for her supplements and am not going to do it and tell her. It is my feeling that using up the money to help her maintain her status is very valuable. After all we are not using money to go on cruises (she detests boats and water) or go on trips to foreign countries (she does not enjoy airplane travel either). So using excess cash to help her is justifiable.
There are days that she seems to be worse, but other days she is better. It is difficult to determine what makes the difference. I think that after we have gone to a meeting or activity, she seems to be worse. Also, if she misses doses of MCT/coconut oil, she seems to be worse.
I will keep you informed periodically of her status. She does not know that I am writing this letter. But if you have questions feel free to e-mail me. (She is past the stage of being e-mail literate.)
As you pray, please keep us in your prayers. I know that the wisdom that comes from God is very vital in my role as her caretaker.
Love,
Dad
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Friday, August 23, 2013
Dear Children,
I am writing to you for your information on Mother's progress. It continues to be a pleasure and a challenge to discern the best care for her. At the present time, I think that she is failing some more. Just this evening I have concluded that there is one thing that I need to change as to her supplements. There is one called Prevagen that she was on, and I felt that she was not improving. It is one that I order from a company and is fairly expensive. When she had taken part of the last bottle,I decided to leave them off and see if she got worse. So this evening I am putting her back on them and will order more and give her some time to improve. It is so difficult to discern her status.
For the most part, I am quite grateful that she is so pleasant to be around. She is so appreciative of what I do for her. She never argues or get mad. She does not break out in tears when she knows that her Alzheimer's has caused a problem. I am impressed that at lunch when I ask her to have the prayer, she thanks God for many things and has an ongoing conversation with God. Occasionally she even thanks God for the food. (I hope that God knows her condition and receives her thanks as coming from her heart.)
I don't know if these letters are helpful for you and whether you want to get more. So give me a short reply.
Dad
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Thursday, September 12, 2013
Dear Children,
It has been a couple of weeks since I wrote to you. I want to say that in general things are going fairly well with Mom, but a few things that I have noticed recently concern me. Last night was a bad night for me. Around 3 a.m. we both went to the bathroom; and on returning, she announced that the connecting tube for the C-PAP was not there. In looking for that, I could not locate it; but I did locate the cutting board that we had lost on Tuesday. (More on that later.) So I advised her to take off the mask and sleep without it. So she did that. But I could not sleep. I did notice that she must have gone back to sleep and WAS NOT SNORING. About 4:30 I still couldn't sleep so I got up and drank some milk and went to the bathroom and that time I noticed the tube for the C-PAP hanging over the shower curtain rod. My conclusion is that she may have gotten up earlier and ended up in the bathroom with the tube still attached to her mask and then took it off and forgot it. The fact that she slept without snoring was encouraging because the time may come when she cannot function to use it. Dr. C. says that a person does not get over Sleep Apnea, but I know that sometimes an expert in the medical field may be wrong.
Back to the chopping board incident. On Monday Julia A. brought us some peppers to chop for the chili making for the Relief Sale. So we used the board Monday evening. Tuesday morning the board was on the kitchen table. So I said to leave it there and we would have it when we got back to finish up the peppers. After breakfast, as is my usual custom, I got the paper and read it while in the East Room. Then I came into the kitchen to resume with the pepper project, and the board could not be located in any cabinet or closet that I looked in. But this morning while we were looking for the tube, I saw the board on her bedside table next to the C-PAP machine. Of course she had no recollection as to how it got there.
As I was contemplating and not sleeping, I got an idea to name one of the invisible beings in our house as "Aldis." That is short for Alzheimer's Disease. So when we have a mystery of how something gets lost, we can blame Aldis for the act.
As far as how I am getting along, I am concerned about my back. Recently it has been hurting a lot more and does not respond to usual measures. The other day it came to me that it may have been due to the fun that I had at David's new pool. I should have known better in thinking that this 73 year old could do what he did 30 years before. I remember that after I dived in the water head first, I felt a twinge in my lumbar spine. If that is the case, I think in time it will lessen if I behave myself. The fact that it is worse, made me think that if I would need to be hospitalized for my back or any other condition, what would happen to Mother? I know that Simply a Daughter and her family would try to handle it and probably would do a good job. But I would constantly worry as to how things were going. Please pray that I can get peace in my mind about this fear.
Thanks for reading this and praying about it. She does not know I am writing these letters so don't talk to me about them in her presence. (Right now she is picking up sticks for Simply a Daughter's family to start fires. She loves that activity.)
Love,
Dad
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Dear Children,
It has been a couple weeks since I sent an update on Mom. There has been a little more progression in her condition but is still quite tolerable. It seems that when she does not get enough sleep she gets worse. (Now she is taking a nap.
.)
.)
Also it is my opinion that when she does not get the full dosage of the MCT/Coconut oils, she gets worse.
One change that I have noticed is that she is having more of a problem with selection of her clothes for the activity that we will be doing. Of course she has had a problem remembering what we are doing.
Please pray that she will continue to be the loving person that she is now. Also pray for me to be able to continue to do what is necessary to help her.
Dad
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Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Dear Children,
I am writing just a short update to let you know that Mother's condition is gradually deteriorating but not much. I have learned that I need to be more active in telling her what clothes to wear. For instance, this morning while I was at the computer, she came out with her dress clothes on, and she asked what day it is. She was thinking it was Sunday. But when I told her to change the clothes and put on what she wore yesterday, she was able to do it.
One thing that I need to do is to tell her what activity that she should be doing to fill up her time. With weather like today, she can go up and work at putting Simply a Daughter's wood in the wood shed. She likes that a lot. She also will sometimes go take a nap at my suggestion. Also when I want to watch sports on TV, I will tell her to play the piano. That way with my headphones I can hear the announcers and at the same time can hear her playing. She recently rediscovered a piano book that she probably got years ago. It is hymn arrangements. Always if she does not do them exactly, she will say that it is the first time for her to play them. (Sometimes I know that she may have played them the night before.)
I am always aware that things could get worse. I feel like I am at the top of a slippery slope, not knowing when she will get a lot worse. So far I am able to stay at the top of the slope and am doing all to keep from sliding down it. She is so loving and appreciative of my care that it makes it much easier to do it.
Dad
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Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Dear Children,
As to Mom's condition, I can see a steady but slow decline. I am sure that Simply a Daughter can see it also. But I am also very happy that her general attitude seems pleasant and cheerful, and she is able to laugh about life when it is laughable. I am trying to be gentle and compassionate with the way that I respond to her. She is able to do many things for herself, but I have realized that I have to do more "coaching" on the small things such as clothing and everyday household items.
Monday evening I discovered that I should not leave her here alone for any length of time. I was babysitting Simply a Daughter's youngest child who slept the whole time that I was at their house. Due to much traffic in town, Simply a Daughter was later in returning from her rounds in town than she expected. When I returned here, Mom was somewhat anxious because she did not know where I was even though I called her one time. This isn't such a big problem but it means that when I work at the clinic, I will need to make arrangements for her to either go with me or to stay at Simply a Daughter's house.
Love,
Dad
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