CAREGIVER NOTE:

More sundowning — he woke up about an hour after going to bed and was out of sorts with another “niggling” of a memory about a document that hadn’t been completed correctly and didn’t match a second one he had signed. A call to a son earlier in the day helped for a few hours, but it was back again last evening. Once we’d worked through the memory — he claims had occurred just a day ago, I think we finally figured out where and why he was getting hung up on it. We talked it through a couple more times — and our last review of the incident didn’t come with any added, “….but’s” in the next sentence! We’ll see how things roll out today. 

We ended the late evening with a collection of previously unheard stories and that were fun to hear and the expressions on his face were delightful to watch as he shared (and reshared) one of the stories about his dad riding a plow driven by a couple of feisty horses. He was able to sleep through the rest of the night with no additional anxiety or trouble. YAY! 

CAREGIVER NOTE:

More stories about his brother Jack. He really idolized him as a child and beyond. I think I need to go take a look at a couple of the binders we have and see if the one story he shared last night can be found in one of them. He talked about an article in a magazine that featured his brother. I’m pretty sure that there’s a copy of the article in there — his wife was a keeper of all things regarding family. 

…to small kindnesses.. be grateful for blessings big and small.  You never khow what may blossom.  Unknown

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.