Share a hug today with someone you love today.
CAREGIVER NOTES:
He tried to pay rent by handing me a stack of underwear. Not sure where that came from, but he was worried about making sure he was contributing to his care.
He was living in the past for most of the day and into the evening.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
Lots of “what to do” yesterday and overnight. Nothing suggested seems to interest him and he has no idea of what he would like to do. We’ll try a couple of ideas today. Fingers crossed something will be of interest to him.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
He walked out the front door yesterday, if I hadn’t heard the door catch…..he might have gotten much further before I noticed he was missing – I was able to catch up with him just as he made it to the bottom of the ramp. By the time we walked back from the neighbor’s driveway, he was complaining about his hip hurting. His gait is more of a shuffle now. He still refuses to use the walker as a help. He needed help with his bedtime routine last evening — terribly confused.
POSITIVES:
He was conversational for a good part of the day and into the evening
He was really gentle with the dog and showed genuine concern about her incision site and making sure she was okay through the day
He enjoyed watching a show of his choice after dinner and seemed really drawn into it for a while, asking questions and responding so some of what was going on.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
We spent nearly an hour outside yesterday. It was so nice and he loved the watching the birds flying to and from the feeders, listening to the sounds in the air and watching the clouds move across the sky and behind the mountain to the east.
POSITIVES:
Laughter and smiles
Compassion for his dog
Expressions of thanks for the little things
Despite the challenges of the day, count your blessings. There are many.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
He’s been a little gentler the last couple of days. Kinder with his words and trying to listen a little more as he tries to process what he’s been hearing. He has been worried about “losing his mind” a lot more and has been noticing that it is much more difficult for him to get things to “stick.” My heart hurts for him and his children — as we see him drifting further and further into the depths of dementia.
Positives:
Music – he’s really enjoying the easy listening channel I recently discovered. It really does calm him a bit
Clouds – he enjoys watching the clouds and didn’t mind feeling the first few drops of rain before moving back into the house
Antiques Roadshow — he sure is glad we don’t have any of that so called “junk” around here as he’s just not sure what he’d do with it if he had it. LOL
CAREGIVER NOTE
Change is inevitable with dementia. It looks like he’s entering the next stage. He’s getting “lost” in the house more frequently – not sure where things are or how to do things he has been very familiar with. His short term memory is almost non-existent. He’s having a more difficult time with conversation and finding words.
On the up side: I did find a music channel he seems to enjoy listening to. I caught him moving his feet to the rhythm of the music and even do a little humming to some of the more familiar tunes he heard. I think/hope we’ll be playing some music for a little while every day.
Positives for the day:
He wanted to go out for breakfast with T
He enjoyed going shopping at the bookstore with T
He was all smiles.
Greatitudes 