CAREGIVER NOTE:

There are times i’m not sure that giving him the talking watch was the best answer… I lost count of the number of times he pushed the buttons after midnight. LOL He was having a difficult time sleeping as well – and when he did get up, it an additional hour after that before he was able to go back to sleep. Hoping for a better night tonight. 

CAREGIVER NOTE:

This dementia thing is a whole different ball of wax! Long term memory for him is also becoming muddied. After listening to his concerns about a situation that happened nearly 50 years ago and his needing to get the answers from those who were there – it was heartbreaking to have to tell him that we couldn’t call any of them. Grateful however, that there was someone in house who did know a good portion of the story and could hopefully help him process what had really happened and help him calm down. Praying for calmer day today. 

CAREGIVER NOTE:

the smiles, banter and jokes are worth every minute and often come when you least expect it but need it most. Yesterday was a good – no make that a VERY GOOD sort of day in that respect. He was “off” in other ways, and repeated the same thing (checking the dog’s toys) multiple times because his eyes weren’t cooperating very well yesterday. He was happy to spend some time catching up with a couple of his sons via the phone last evening and will spend a few hours over the weekend visiting with another in person. He’s looking forward to that.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

We spent Thanksgiving evening in the ER – he was experiencing some chest pain, but no other symptoms of a heart attack. After bloodwork to check for enzymes that would indicate an attack and ruling that out, as well as pneumonia, he was discharged with the pain being attributed to reflux. Which really isn’t too surprising since one of the meds he had been taking before the choking on a pill episode was a horse pill for reflux. He’s refused to take it since that trip to the ER as he’s afraid he’ll choke on it again. So Tums or Maalox it is for the time being and an appointment with his Primary Care Physician so be set up to determine next steps.