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RIP~ thank you, she has been in here about 7 months, wow cant believe its been that long, at the same time it seems like forever. I'm sure trying to do a good job. No i didnt post a st.pattys day thing on fb. i dont think i have anyone here on my fb page. My fb pic is a picture of me. BOB~ thank you for explaining the clock test to me. i saw somthing a while back on it but they wanted you to "buy the book" unfortunatly i have nothing to do with her Dr. appointments. She is sharp as a tac most of the time and still takes care of all of this on her own. My FIL thank goodness drives her to most of her appointments, it gives me a small break every now and again. But she dosnt allow him to go in with her. I remember when her husband was alive that was one thing that my MIL who was helping them complained about. She didnt think aunt told the Dr. everything, and they had no real clue about what was going on with him. Aunt always told her the Dr. said it was old age, then she eventually admitted he had dementia when they put him on aricept(by this time he was already into the advanced stages of whatever dementia he had) like the last year to two before he passed. She still dosnt know what he had. They always said he dosnt have alz. he has dementia, so that shows you how much understanding they had of his condition. So she is pretty private about that stuff. She did show me a paper from her MRI which stated a conclusion of white matter changes and atrophy. As well as majior infarct(stroke). She keeps talking about her memory now the last couple of weeks (Ive noticed things for a few months), she dosnt seem the least bit interested in knowing and thinks its normal. I would like to know so we can help her or at least have some idea of what we are going to be dealing with. The usual ways that most sites say to look for dont seem to apply to her. Like the driving getting lost thing. She has never driven. And the emotinal outburst,FIL says she had been like that for years, that its just her. I cant imagine some of the outburst being a person ality trait. Not being able to balance check book, who knows she is private about that but seems like she handles it well. she is always refiguring and refiguring it. She is very thorouh. So i dont think she would do any test i would try to give her. I know it sounds silly but i keep thinking somday her mind is just gonna be gone totally and it wont be till that point that I will be able to take her myself to the dr. and have her evaluated. i have just become obsessed with wondering about it all. I should stop I guess it dosnt help anything, but I think the more I can learn about wheather she has a problem or not, and what it involves the more i might get a mental picture of the situation and how bad it could get. Anyways, my sign in name should have been ramble instead of allshesgot because thats what I do when im tired, and lonly. I soooo appreciate all of you. This site has really helped me. Sometimes it helps even to just hear about somone elses day to take my mind off things. Love you all back.
The Veterinarian One Sunday, in counting the money in the weekly offering, the Pastor of a small church found a pink envelope containing $1,000. It happened again the next week! The following Sunday, he watched as the offering was collected and saw an elderly woman put the distinctive pink envelope on the plate. This went on for weeks until the pastor, overcome by curiosity, approached her. "Ma'am, I couldn't help but notice that you put $1,000 each week in the collection plate," he stated. "Why yes," she replied, "every week my son sends me money and I give some of it to the church." The pastor replied, "That's wonderful. But $1000 is a lot. Are you sure you can afford this? How much does he send you?" The elderly woman answered, "$10,000 a week." The pastor was amazed. "Your son is very successful; what does he do for a living?" "He is a veterinarian," she answered. "That's an honorable profession, but I had no idea they made that much money," the pastor said. "Where does he practice?" The woman answered proudly, "In Nevada .. He has two cat houses - one in Las Vegas & one in Reno."
we love u too CUZ . many times i look fwrd to see u posting something that made me giggle , grin and eye opener . you and of all caregivers are the angels in my eye s. my girlfriend is about to get laid off , shes in a emotional wreck sick to her tummy cuz she has tons of bills . oh its s sad i feel for her . let alone to all of us who had to quit our job to care for our parents , rough times . life just isnt fair anymore . CUZ i admire u when u said u read from the beingining and and even went back to read em again , i havent done that . cuz i was there at the beginng and was a fly on the wall for a while till i felt i was one of them . you all are my familes and we worry about one to another and pray for them to stay out of the black hole .
i havent been feeling too well today , i ate supper and slept 4 hrs , dad let me sleep he knew i needed it . when i woke up he s all exciting now take me to the bathroom . lol rush rush , i need to catch up here so u guys have a good nite xoxo
Hey everyone. I won't take the time to type out the whole article we had in the Grand Rapids press but they were talking about how they have found 4 genes that maybe tyied to Alzheimer's and part of the last few paragraphs was this.. " In addition, a recent report shows the percentage of caregivers who report high or very high emotional and physical stress is growing. There are nearly 15 million Alzheimer's and dementia caregivers providing 17 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $202 billion. We really need to step up the pace of discovery in Alzheimer's. We've known about this disease for over 100 years, and in the modern science ere for 25. As the number of people with Alzsheimer's increases in this country, we're going to be strapped to take care of them."
I know that you all know this already but I would like to thank everyone of you for taking on the responsibilty of being a caregiver. The time and care you give is just unbelievable. I have followed this sit now since December of last year but have read the entire thread from the beginning more than once. I don't respond like you guys do except for an ocasional joke sometimes, but I do care about you for what you are doing and have done even after your loved one has passed on. You are a great group of people from all over and I am blessed to be a part of it. Thanks for letting me be a part of your vast group of caregivers. I love you all. Harv (better known as the Cuz)
Pirate, I must say I feel the same way about nursing homes that you do. I am sure there must be some better ones out there... I know I have said it before but I will say it again. They have got to get better.
We have been working our asses off getting this house ready for the realtor to see it tomorrow morning at 9am. We're still not done. Hubby always gets up early so he will probably do most of the finishing up. We washed the outside windows with that Windex pole thingie. I think there will be streaks but oh well. Then we get ready for our garage sale booth and then I work and then the garage sale starts at 7am Saturday. Can you say tired?? I know you ALL can. :)
Yep, seeme, if the shoes make her happy then what the hay.
K, gonna make the coffee, take my meds, get ready for bed and smoke my bedtime ciggie and then go to bed. Up before 6 to get ready for the realtor. I'll be glad when that is over. Poor hubby is so tired. He made the kitchen look beautiful!!
My dad was a geologist!! We have geodes and other cool rocks here. He was also into Indian arrowheads. He worked in natural gas storage and would find some really cool stuff on jobs. Jen, I so wish I could ask him about your rock within a rock but he passed away in 2005.
I may not have posted, but I have been here, and have read all the posts a couple of times a day.
First, I must say I agree with Ted. I like NOBS, especially since he will have them on his head, right? A 'no bull shit' bull. Yeah, baby.
Pirate... Glad you are back. So sorry about the trauma in the NH's.
I got on the site Ted told us about and found a day care in a new place that I didn't know existed. Only 10 min away. I didn't call them today, but I do know a couple of folks from the church that are living there. I really just need a few hours sometimes to do some shopping or run errands. Mom can't always keep up, and I always have to find a bathroom once or twice. I was in line at the bank drive-up the last time I had to find one. I made her wait till we got to Walmart and the first one I came to was closed for cleaning, so I ran her to the back. That was after I pushed her across the entire parking lot cause we can never find a handicap spot. We ended up walking the entire store twice. And damn if she didn't buy another pair of shoes---someone who doesn't even walk. Course, I showed them to her...so blame me, but what little joy she has is OK.
She told me to make sure my sister gets the ashes (this one has my dad's ashes). She thinks the time is coming soon.....who knows.....not me. I do hate to hear her talk like that. I haven't been that patient with her lately. My bad.
But this group has had a lot of good news to be grateful for!! Keep lifting spirits for the rest of us!!. I'm on duty tonight, so I will close....bedtime for me.
Hello to all of you!!! I've missed out on a bunch, I KNOW....but, wow, have we had a lot of "stuff" goin' on...it's ok, though. All will be well. Sorry, but I have had just about NO computer time AND my hubby has been working on changing our internet service...blah, blah, blah. Anyhoo...he's at the firestation tonight...I'm on "Mama Flo" duty (got home from work @ 7:45--he left at 6:00--she was JONESING for her glass o' wine!!! LOL!!!)...it's gettin near her bedtime, so gotta run. Just wanted ya'll to know that you ALL are thought of and cared about by this "kat!" xo :-)
Ladeeda, I do sort of collect rocks. as a kid I would take em home an trips..now a no no, but I never go any where any how, but with all the digging yard work I have had quite a few interesting ones. This last one has me baffled I emailed the USGS to see if I can get more information. I have never seen anything like it. one blue rock inside an outer layer of gray rock? Metamorphic? what? Just interesting to me. I have a rock I have had since I WAS 8. I CONSIDER IT A MAGIC ROCK JUST BECAUSE IT IS SO INTERESTING. OVAL SHAPED AND RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE A WHITE VEIN OF WHAT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT TYPE OF ROCK. ok I hit caps lock sorry not yelling... Slept a lot to day, but not too sore from yard work. Errands tomorrow and g to ADH.
allshegot, thanks so much for asking. We are doing okay. We have been working really hard and have been really stressed out for quite some time now. Hubby is so exhausted. And, yes, the new house stress is a good one. We still don't have the proof of funds we need but hopefully that will be soon. The next zinger is having this home looked at tomorrow morning by a local realtor. We want it to look as good as possible so there won't have to be a huge sum of money put into it. It hasn't been this clean in a long time. :) THEN, we have the burial of Mom & Dad's ashes next month and then will be going through all of their things and splitting them up and deciding what to do with the rest. Then bro and SIL are staying on I am guessing to get the house ready to sell. Hubby and I will offer to do some of the work as opposed to paying big bucks to a contractor. Hubby is very handy and is a perfectionist. All of this will be VERY stressful because my sis does not like me and neither my sis or bro like my husband. I hate shit like that. I have too much anxiety as it is. Too much tension. Can't WAIT for it to be OVER!! Oh and then there is our move to the new house in between. Sorry, I went on and on and on, didn't I? Hope you're not sorry you asked. :)
Man they continuously mess with this site and not for the best, dumarsed programmers, still should have a page request page, idiots!
Well sorry I have not been on folks, since my mom has been declining more and more it's been more of a challege, no more wheelchair, nor porta potty, she cannot walk or stand on her own anymore. It;s hard to understand what she wants sometimes, have to ask a million times to get a correct answer. She is heavy to move around to clean up, since she has to wear diapers all the time, and I really do not like the useless diapers they use in hospice, at least depends types have a sealed leg and these hospice diapers are loose like gloried trash bags, ugly as sin and useless, for spillage. Geeeezus what a mess , they leak and then you have to clean everything, have to try to keep those chucks, pads under her, like about 3. Today the back up clean up girl took like an hour and it was painful even with her know it all arse, she is a temp, can't wait for the reg gal to be back, she does everything in seconds, less stress for mom. And the looser lost the bottle cap for the hair soap took me awhile untill I found it under my mom's covers at the foot of the bed. Been trying to move out of my rental house, been tough going all alone. Only have brought out of there a .05% LOL. Taking it a bit easy today...seems I can never get a big block of sleep, mom wakes up in the middle of the night a couple of times dehydrated and it takes a while to give her her 7-up. It's been a tough road. Oh man I have a story for you, a couple of weeks ago I thought I cannot do this anymore at home, and thought I would put her in a NH, BUT heck they are not what they seem. Assisted living is fine, it's like an apartment,but long term care is kinda gross, pack em in like sardines in hosp beds and that's it...I went to several and t hought F that keeping mom at home, so she got her wish NO NH...cause they are GROSS...and noisy. I went to one god forsaking place Hospice told me about, it must be for all the poor misfits in the world. I go in thinking it is all old people sleeping sweetly in their beds and nurses tiptoeing around....nope it is what I described above plus this....a guy was sitting at the back door with no nose....yep no nose..yick....poor thing, but yick..no bandage just a triangle of burgandy open hole...gross...okay open the door and meaner down the main corridor, and the rooms look old and gloomy and industrial...I can find no desk...I keep going and then run into a nurse asking for info...okay stand here at this station and I will call someone...so I stand there and wait and there is this skinny 30-40 something man did I say skinny guessing aids patient and is just standing there behind me just staring...so I keep looking ahead...here comes another 30-40 something man...cruising down the hallway holding a sandwich in one hand and not saying a word....creepy...then there is a deformed tiny person in a wheelchair and it looked like the poor thing's mouth was inside out...I was so creeped out and traumatized. I left there running into the same guy at the back door with no nose..yikes....I left there and went to check out a storage facilty and decided to go to one more long term care...and it was a bit better but still noisy. That evening I came home crying my brains out so traumatized by these horrid places...and hugged my mom and thought to myself she is never going to one of these and I hope I never end up at one of these horrible places. I want that cyanide tooth capsule the KBG has..lol...if I end up at one of those places..lol. My b/f was so not understanding that evening I had to call my g/f up for comfort. I tell you folks the road gets weirder and rougher at the end I think..oh I don't know what to think anymore...lol. check back in with you all soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me...
Hi there asg. Christina is right in the fact that it is a disease and not everyone gets it. If your aunt is verbalizing that she is not sure which way to go, that is a symptom. One of the easiest ways to go (if the person will do it) is to draw a clock. Google 'clock test' and you will see different ways to get an idea of what your aunt is facing. Believe me you don't need a dr's visit for this. they would like you to believe you do but you can do a lot on your own and THEN inform the doctor of your findings and be that much ahead of the game. that means you can come away from the dr's office with a script for Namenda or Aricept as opposed to wondering what in the world is going on. you get the patient to draw a round clock with the numbers in place and if they get that far ask for them to put a time in like 9:20 or something. This is a down and dirty cognition test. How bad the clock looks is an indicator for how far this has gone. Good Luck to you and your aunt and remember I am not a 'pro'. lovbob
Another really common "watch out for" is the dreaded UTI. Since you're new & may not know, Urinary Tract Infections can really mess with the mind. Easily dehydrates the seniors & for some reason they often fail to feel the associated pain! I wish there was a home test available. Geez - you can see if your preggers within minutes now but can't pee on a stick to determine nasty bacteria?
How new is her home environment? Moving furniture can be confusing to those with vision problems. Sounds like you are doing an amazing job there. What a lucky lady she is! Was it you who posted the St. Pat's photo on FB?
Christina I also wanted to say I tried to post to your wall this morning but couldn't. It wouldn't let me. It is true about 35 or more on what they call the assistive only side of the nh. You know as well as I do that this dosnt make it easier. Then you have 20 of them needing help going to the bathroom from wheelchairs, slowww walking ect. It is a mess. Not all are that bad. But the one I worked in for a total of 5 years was. Then they have 3 or 4 total assist on that side just to even things out a little. Yeah right. This is from low staffing, burnout paid cargivers calling in all at once or quiting all at once. It can be very stressful for the residents to.
Christina thanks for replying, yeah I about spit my coffee when she said it! Lol. I do forget things but I always have. My mom has always called me scatter brained. Its cause my hands keep on working when my mind is elswhere lol. Or I know I have an appointment on Friday but life is crazy and Friday comes around and I didn't realize it. But my aunt has always been sharp as a tack. She NEVER forgot meds or anything EVER she has done it 3 times in the last 2 months. Me on the other hand have to stop and try to remember if I took that antibiotic, then I count them to make sure I didn't then realize if I'm wondering if I took it I probably didn't. That's cause I'm so busy my days run together. Somhow I remember to look to make sure she took hers now. Having a little alzhiemers is like saying we all pee our pants a little when we get old! Wait, that's kinda true. Christina I would never think you or anyone else is being a know it all. That's why I go into so much detail so I can get as many opinions as possible. I try to do the same, I'm not a know it all either but I will look somthing up if I think I might be able to help somone. This is a wonderful group of people and I'm so glad I can get everyons input.
Hi ASG, about the "everyone gets a little Alzheimer's"---I don't think so. It is a disease, so not everyone gets it. As we age, our brain cells get less and less--but that can happen from drugs and alcohol, too:) I knew a 100 year old woman who was just as sharp as us--at least you are, ASG, at 31! lol One of our caregivers had a client who developed dementia while in her 30's, and Mother's psychiatrist has said there is nothing to show that just because one is elderly, that they will automatically have Alzheimer's. I am not a know-it-all, I am just reporting what has been told to me by doctors, and from people I have met throughput my life. I know we can all get forgetful at a young age, especially if we have too many things going on, not enough free time, unbearable stress, trauma, shock, etc. I am sure Bobbie or Jam will have a better perspective on this than I, but I saw you here, ASG, and wanted to reply;). Hope you're having a good day, little Sweetums. Hugs, Christina
miz how are hubby and you handeling everything? In the short time I've been on this thread you have already had so many majior stressful events. Thank god dness the house thing is a good stress.
Like the idea of seriously sucky, sibling thread, my hubbys siblings suck so bad you wouldn't even know he had any. Which kinda works for us I guess, they already burned their bridges years ago, so no one would ever consider trusting them with anything important, and they already ignored the aunt and uncle for som many years. They are outta the loop which would seem sad, except we already know they would be of no real help. Oh I could tell stories,
Interesting, the lady who brings my aunt her luch from the local senior center(thank god for small favors), who is a caretaker to her father in law with alzhiemers, told me she thinks my aunt has alzhiemers. Don't know what my aunt said to her today but whateever it was must have been a classic. I knew this woman from before, she took up delivering the meals to get some daily respite. From what she told me today his newest thing is sundowners. I think he is very close to the last stages but can still get up on his own just falls down when he does. This poor woman has been doing this for 4 years in her home. While he has been pretty bad. 2 years ago when my sister took care of him so they could get away for a vacation he was pretty severe then. Anyways it was interesting to find out that I'm not the only one seeing things with her. The other night while helping my aunt with bedtime routine I normally get up from the chair and go before her into the bedroom to open the door and turn on the lights, this time for some reason I stood up and was following her. She stops in her tracks and looks around and says"I'm not sure which way I'm going"so I pointed her in the right direction and off we went. Then last night at the same time I hung back to see if she knew where she was going and she made some comment about, somtimes I don't know where I am going. But then she headed in the right direction. So I don't know. I'm sure somthing is going on with her I just don't know what, normally she is sharp as a tack, there are just these moments, that are not really important, just strange. And more frequent. Just not sure if it is just an after affect of stroke, or what that woman told me today. I mentioned talking to dr. One day and she informed me that we all have a little alzhiemers when we get as old as she is. So talking to the dr isn't an option. Thanks for hearing me out. Any thoughts?
Christina!! Good to see you!! I am proud of you for standing up to your sister. It is something I have trouble doing.
We just got back from our home inspection and we are very excited. No major problems. Just minor ones that are easily fixed. So, $300.00 later, that is done. We need to get in the home inspection biz. :) Still gotta have the termite inspection but that's pretty cheap and the realtor is gonna get it done. Hubby is telling me he wants to make the outside look like a castle with guard towers and shit. OMG, please no!! I was thinking they were leaving the washer and dryer but they are not so we will have to buy some. It has a laundry shoot which I think is pretty cool. There is a flowering bush in the yard that looks like it will be real pretty in a few days. We're gonna paint the inside of the house. The outside is fine. We need to get some furniture but we got a bed, some dressers, an entertainment center, and patio furniture. We can survive on that for now.
K, gonna do some laundry. Gotta go to work in a couple hours or so. Then it's clean clean clean tonight cause the realtor for this house comes tomorrow morning. Then it's go to work and then Saturday there is an indoor garage sale at the fair grounds here where hubby has a booth and I work for about an hour cause the place I work at is putting it on. That starts at 7am. Before I go to work tomorrow, I will be helping hubby get his stuff ready and moved to his garage sale booth. Sooo, Sunday will probably be a do nothing day. Then I am gonna start packing.
Good Morning Friends, Lot's of good news here--congratulations again, Ted, and ssk--you are on a roll! I agree with Ladee that a Ted Thread would be awesome. You da man, Ted! I think I got a little caught up reading after I figured out the new format. I have to tell myself that I will get used to it, so when I get past the dreaded 'new appliance manual', slowly, but surely, I can hop on board. This is the BOAT, right? You guys are keeping things afloat. With Mother and our situation at our house, things are stable. I have updated my profile in case anyone is interested (yawn). BUT..... just kidding. I'll vent just a little of what I am now over, but I know how you all love a good story, and it's about a sibling, so here goes. Wait, maybe there needs to be an official "Seriously Sucky Sibling Saga" thread? OK: sister comes for her visit of the month, because she lives so far away and it has been windy and she had one doctor appointment that month and a hangnail. She has lost so much weight, she looks like a shriveled up little old gnome with no ass, and it's not cute. She is talking to me in the kitchen and tells me I should take a picture of myself NAKED and it would inspire me to lose weight. All her mannerisms are exaggerated and it feels like my legs are lead (not where my weight is, btw, nor my Butt) and I cannot move my feet to SCRAM. "All I did was give up sugar", she says demurely, batting her eyelids and rolling her tongue in her cheek. Oh, Yuck. I lost my appetite, almost cried, how could she be so cruel. I had not gotten to where I was sleeping well yet, I did crave carbs, and I wanted to scream, but as with my legs of lead, it was dreamtime, and I was hopeless, helpless, stuck. Later that week, I noticed she had still not emailed me as she usually does after a visit, so I emailed her. I told her that her "reformer lecture" hurt my feelings, and didn't she realize: I know I am overweight, but with all I do for the family--meaning taking on her load,I am tired and stressed, and please refrain from critical remarks. She wrote back' Oh, sorry, I don't know what I said, you hurt MY feelings, yada". Which compounds my frustration. Etc. Same old, same old. But, see how my feelings were not as important as hers? She REEMED me for speaking up for myself. So, I told her, ok, have the last word. Hope you feel better now. I had to take her crap, and there was not one word of concern about hurting my feelings. It was as if everything was my fault. Funny thing, I am losing weight now, because I am sleeping, my shoulder is much better, and I am not drinking wine. I feel better all day, so I make better choices with food. So, yesterday I emailed her if she is coming one last time before she leaves for her summer home. I told her I realized she didn't mean to hurt my feelings, and I was happy she had a positive experience with her weight loss. (GAG) Also, why didn't she take Mother to the island for a few months, Mother would love the change of scenery, the caregivers would like it, too. Please consider sharing the load, since she had never said why she could not help with this responsibility, and I had been hearing about siblings who are getting a bad rap for not helping the caregiver sibling. I think it was on the news. Revenge is sweet, and it's non-fattening. I haven't heard from her yet. Have a fantastic day, everyone. A bull name: "El Toro PooPoo" Hugs, christina
ssk, so happy to hear you have some good news and some support. Just imagine what we will learn as Ted embarks on this journey. At some point you will have to start your own thread so that everyone can learn what is going on. Newcomers will be very receptive to that... So very proud of you Ted, Hugs across the miles...
Ted, checked out the family caregiver sight, awesome!!! Lots of information, don't know where I fit in yet, but will go over the sight more detailed later this morning. I am going to NH to get information My little prayer before I go will be "Please God, do not let me kill any of those with alphabet soup behind their names. Amen"
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a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is,
you will know what to do for that
Person..
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need
You have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
to provide you with
Guidance and support,
To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part
or at an inconvenient time,
This person will say or do something
to bring the relationship to an
End.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire
Fulfilled, their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered
and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has
Come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy..
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
Things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional
Foundation..
Your job is to accept the lesson,
Love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other
Relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being a part of my life,
Whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.
Love Cuz
One Sunday, in counting the money in the weekly offering, the Pastor of a small church found a pink envelope
containing $1,000. It happened again the next week!
The following Sunday, he watched as the offering was
collected and saw an elderly woman put the distinctive
pink envelope on the plate. This went on for weeks until
the pastor, overcome by curiosity, approached her.
"Ma'am, I couldn't help but notice that you put $1,000 each
week in the collection plate," he stated.
"Why yes," she replied, "every week my son sends me
money and I give some of it to the church."
The pastor replied, "That's wonderful. But $1000 is a lot. Are you sure you can afford this? How much does he send you?"
The elderly woman answered, "$10,000 a week."
The pastor was amazed. "Your son is very successful;
what does he do for a living?"
"He is a veterinarian," she answered.
"That's an honorable profession, but I had no idea they
made that much money," the pastor said. "Where does
he practice?"
The woman answered proudly, "In Nevada .. He has two
cat houses - one in Las Vegas & one in Reno."
my girlfriend is about to get laid off , shes in a emotional wreck sick to her tummy cuz she has tons of bills . oh its s sad i feel for her .
let alone to all of us who had to quit our job to care for our parents , rough times .
life just isnt fair anymore .
CUZ i admire u when u said u read from the beingining and and even went back to read em again , i havent done that . cuz i was there at the beginng and was a fly on the wall for a while till i felt i was one of them . you all are my familes and we worry about one to another and pray for them to stay out of the black hole .
i havent been feeling too well today , i ate supper and slept 4 hrs , dad let me sleep he knew i needed it . when i woke up he s all exciting now take me to the bathroom . lol rush rush ,
i need to catch up here so u guys have a good nite xoxo
" In addition, a recent report shows the percentage of caregivers who report high or very high emotional and physical stress is growing.
There are nearly 15 million Alzheimer's and dementia caregivers providing 17 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $202 billion.
We really need to step up the pace of discovery in Alzheimer's. We've known about this disease for over 100 years, and in the modern science ere for 25.
As the number of people with Alzsheimer's increases in this country, we're going to be strapped to take care of them."
I know that you all know this already but I would like to thank everyone of you for taking on the responsibilty of being a caregiver. The time and care you give is just unbelievable. I have followed this sit now since December of last year but have read the entire thread from the beginning more than once. I don't respond like you guys do except for an ocasional joke sometimes, but I do care about you for what you are doing and have done even after your loved one has passed on. You are a great group of people from all over and I am blessed to be a part of it. Thanks for letting me be a part of your vast group of caregivers. I love you all. Harv (better known as the Cuz)
We have been working our asses off getting this house ready for the realtor to see it tomorrow morning at 9am. We're still not done. Hubby always gets up early so he will probably do most of the finishing up. We washed the outside windows with that Windex pole thingie. I think there will be streaks but oh well. Then we get ready for our garage sale booth and then I work and then the garage sale starts at 7am Saturday. Can you say tired?? I know you ALL can. :)
Yep, seeme, if the shoes make her happy then what the hay.
K, gonna make the coffee, take my meds, get ready for bed and smoke my bedtime ciggie and then go to bed. Up before 6 to get ready for the realtor. I'll be glad when that is over. Poor hubby is so tired. He made the kitchen look beautiful!!
love,
miz
love,
miz
I may not have posted, but I have been here, and have read all the posts a couple of times a day.
First, I must say I agree with Ted. I like NOBS, especially since he will have them on his head, right? A 'no bull shit' bull. Yeah, baby.
Pirate... Glad you are back. So sorry about the trauma in the NH's.
I got on the site Ted told us about and found a day care in a new place that I didn't know existed. Only 10 min away. I didn't call them today, but I do know a couple of folks from the church that are living there. I really just need a few hours sometimes to do some shopping or run errands. Mom can't always keep up, and I always have to find a bathroom once or twice. I was in line at the bank drive-up the last time I had to find one. I made her wait till we got to Walmart and the first one I came to was closed for cleaning, so I ran her to the back. That was after I pushed her across the entire parking lot cause we can never find a handicap spot. We ended up walking the entire store twice. And damn if she didn't buy another pair of shoes---someone who doesn't even walk. Course, I showed them to her...so blame me, but what little joy she has is OK.
She told me to make sure my sister gets the ashes (this one has my dad's ashes). She thinks the time is coming soon.....who knows.....not me. I do hate to hear her talk like that. I haven't been that patient with her lately. My bad.
But this group has had a lot of good news to be grateful for!! Keep lifting spirits for the rest of us!!. I'm on duty tonight, so I will close....bedtime for me.
Love Ya'll,
Sue
Slept a lot to day, but not too sore from yard work. Errands tomorrow and g to ADH.
Hope everyone is ok there...
love,
miz
Well sorry I have not been on folks, since my mom has been declining more and more it's been more of a challege, no more wheelchair, nor porta potty, she cannot walk or stand on her own anymore. It;s hard to understand what she wants sometimes, have to ask a million times to get a correct answer. She is heavy to move around to clean up, since she has to wear diapers all the time, and I really do not like the useless diapers they use in hospice, at least depends types have a sealed leg and these hospice diapers are loose like gloried trash bags, ugly as sin and useless, for spillage. Geeeezus what a mess , they leak and then you have to clean everything, have to try to keep those chucks, pads under her, like about 3. Today the back up clean up girl took like an hour and it was painful even with her know it all arse, she is a temp, can't wait for the reg gal to be back, she does everything in seconds, less stress for mom. And the looser lost the bottle cap for the hair soap took me awhile untill I found it under my mom's covers at the foot of the bed. Been trying to move out of my rental house, been tough going all alone. Only have brought out of there a .05% LOL. Taking it a bit easy today...seems I can never get a big block of sleep, mom wakes up in the middle of the night a couple of times dehydrated and it takes a while to give her her 7-up. It's been a tough road. Oh man I have a story for you, a couple of weeks ago I thought I cannot do this anymore at home, and thought I would put her in a NH, BUT heck they are not what they seem. Assisted living is fine, it's like an apartment,but long term care is kinda gross, pack em in like sardines in hosp beds and that's it...I went to several and t hought F that keeping mom at home, so she got her wish NO NH...cause they are GROSS...and noisy. I went to one god forsaking place Hospice told me about, it must be for all the poor misfits in the world. I go in thinking it is all old people sleeping sweetly in their beds and nurses tiptoeing around....nope it is what I described above plus this....a guy was sitting at the back door with no nose....yep no nose..yick....poor thing, but yick..no bandage just a triangle of burgandy open hole...gross...okay open the door and meaner down the main corridor, and the rooms look old and gloomy and industrial...I can find no desk...I keep going and then run into a nurse asking for info...okay stand here at this station and I will call someone...so I stand there and wait and there is this skinny 30-40 something man did I say skinny guessing aids patient and is just standing there behind me just staring...so I keep looking ahead...here comes another 30-40 something man...cruising down the hallway holding a sandwich in one hand and not saying a word....creepy...then there is a deformed tiny person in a wheelchair and it looked like the poor thing's mouth was inside out...I was so creeped out and traumatized. I left there running into the same guy at the back door with no nose..yikes....I left there and went to check out a storage facilty and decided to go to one more long term care...and it was a bit better but still noisy. That evening I came home crying my brains out so traumatized by these horrid places...and hugged my mom and thought to myself she is never going to one of these and I hope I never end up at one of these horrible places. I want that cyanide tooth capsule the KBG has..lol...if I end up at one of those places..lol. My b/f was so not understanding that evening I had to call my g/f up for comfort. I tell you folks the road gets weirder and rougher at the end I think..oh I don't know what to think anymore...lol. check back in with you all soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me...
Christina is right in the fact that it is a disease and not everyone gets it.
If your aunt is verbalizing that she is not sure which way to go, that is a symptom.
One of the easiest ways to go (if the person will do it) is to draw a clock.
Google 'clock test' and you will see different ways to get an idea of what your aunt is facing. Believe me you don't need a dr's visit for this. they would like you to believe you do but you can do a lot on your own and THEN inform the doctor of your findings and be that much ahead of the game. that means you can come away from the dr's office with a script for Namenda or Aricept as opposed to wondering what in the world is going on.
you get the patient to draw a round clock with the numbers in place and if they get that far ask for them to put a time in like 9:20 or something.
This is a down and dirty cognition test. How bad the clock looks is an indicator for how far this has gone.
Good Luck to you and your aunt and remember I am not a 'pro'.
lovbob
Another really common "watch out for" is the dreaded UTI. Since you're new & may not know, Urinary Tract Infections can really mess with the mind. Easily dehydrates the seniors & for some reason they often fail to feel the associated pain!
I wish there was a home test available. Geez - you can see if your preggers within minutes now but can't pee on a stick to determine nasty bacteria?
How new is her home environment? Moving furniture can be confusing to those with vision problems.
Sounds like you are doing an amazing job there. What a lucky lady she is!
Was it you who posted the St. Pat's photo on FB?
I am sure Bobbie or Jam will have a better perspective on this than I, but I saw you here, ASG, and wanted to reply;). Hope you're having a good day, little Sweetums. Hugs, Christina
We just got back from our home inspection and we are very excited. No major problems. Just minor ones that are easily fixed. So, $300.00 later, that is done. We need to get in the home inspection biz. :) Still gotta have the termite inspection but that's pretty cheap and the realtor is gonna get it done. Hubby is telling me he wants to make the outside look like a castle with guard towers and shit. OMG, please no!! I was thinking they were leaving the washer and dryer but they are not so we will have to buy some. It has a laundry shoot which I think is pretty cool. There is a flowering bush in the yard that looks like it will be real pretty in a few days. We're gonna paint the inside of the house. The outside is fine. We need to get some furniture but we got a bed, some dressers, an entertainment center, and patio furniture. We can survive on that for now.
K, gonna do some laundry. Gotta go to work in a couple hours or so. Then it's clean clean clean tonight cause the realtor for this house comes tomorrow morning. Then it's go to work and then Saturday there is an indoor garage sale at the fair grounds here where hubby has a booth and I work for about an hour cause the place I work at is putting it on. That starts at 7am. Before I go to work tomorrow, I will be helping hubby get his stuff ready and moved to his garage sale booth. Sooo, Sunday will probably be a do nothing day. Then I am gonna start packing.
K, I've gone on enough for now. Love Yous!!
miz
Lot's of good news here--congratulations again, Ted, and ssk--you are on a roll!
I agree with Ladee that a Ted Thread would be awesome. You da man, Ted!
I think I got a little caught up reading after I figured out the new format. I have to tell myself that I will get used to it, so when I get past the dreaded 'new appliance manual', slowly, but surely, I can hop on board. This is the BOAT, right?
You guys are keeping things afloat.
With Mother and our situation at our house, things are stable. I have updated my profile in case anyone is interested (yawn). BUT..... just kidding.
I'll vent just a little of what I am now over, but I know how you all love a good story, and it's about a sibling, so here goes. Wait, maybe there needs to be an official "Seriously Sucky Sibling Saga" thread? OK: sister comes for her visit of the month, because she lives so far away and it has been windy and she had one doctor appointment that month and a hangnail. She has lost so much weight, she looks like a shriveled up little old gnome with no ass, and it's not cute. She is talking to me in the kitchen and tells me I should take a picture of myself NAKED and it would inspire me to lose weight. All her mannerisms are exaggerated and it feels like my legs are lead (not where my weight is, btw, nor my Butt) and I cannot move my feet to SCRAM. "All I did was give up sugar", she says demurely, batting her eyelids and rolling her tongue in her cheek. Oh, Yuck. I lost my appetite, almost cried, how could she be so cruel. I had not gotten to where I was sleeping well yet, I did crave carbs, and I wanted to scream, but as with my legs of lead, it was dreamtime, and I was hopeless, helpless, stuck.
Later that week, I noticed she had still not emailed me as she usually does after a visit, so I emailed her. I told her that her "reformer lecture" hurt my feelings, and didn't she realize: I know I am overweight, but with all I do for the family--meaning taking on her load,I am tired and stressed, and please refrain from critical remarks.
She wrote back' Oh, sorry, I don't know what I said, you hurt MY feelings, yada".
Which compounds my frustration. Etc. Same old, same old. But, see how my feelings were not as important as hers? She REEMED me for speaking up for myself. So, I told her, ok, have the last word. Hope you feel better now. I had to take her crap, and there was not one word of concern about hurting my feelings. It was as if everything was my fault.
Funny thing, I am losing weight now, because I am sleeping, my shoulder is much better, and I am not drinking wine. I feel better all day, so I make better choices with food.
So, yesterday I emailed her if she is coming one last time before she leaves for her summer home. I told her I realized she didn't mean to hurt my feelings, and I was happy she had a positive experience with her weight loss. (GAG) Also, why didn't she take Mother to the island for a few months, Mother would love the change of scenery, the caregivers would like it, too. Please consider sharing the load, since she had never said why she could not help with this responsibility, and I had been hearing about siblings who are getting a bad rap for not helping the caregiver sibling. I think it was on the news. Revenge is sweet, and it's non-fattening.
I haven't heard from her yet.
Have a fantastic day, everyone. A bull name: "El Toro PooPoo"
Hugs, christina