Friday, January 2, 2015

Looking back on 2014 and forward to 2015

So where was I?.....some days I'm not sure.  Looking back on 2014, it was quite a year!  A year full of change for sure...changes in where we live, what we do, where we go and how as well as health issues.  But all for the good I keep telling myself.
So how is He-Who-Sleeps-Alot?  Physically he is great, thank Goddess, but sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night.  I still don't know what to think about it.  I have been told this is common with Alzheimer's but sometimes I think he is either bored or sleep provides a safe place where he doesn't have to struggle with making sense of his surroundings.  I think we may have reached the max that medication can help and I am working to get him to the exercise class here.  He spends his days watching MSNBC which repeats news over and over...no problem as he doesn't remember what he watched...and he goes over 3 newspapers with a highlighter.  We take the Houston Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal and the NY Times and he cuts out articles he thinks worthy so that keeps him busy.  He stacks the articles up on a shelf and every now and then I go and take the bottom ones to discard.

I took him to a new eye doc this week and wish we had seen this one a couple of years ago...very thorough and referred us to a retina specialist as the retina on his left eye is buckled. I told the nurse and doc that he has difficulty following directions and they were just wonderful with him.  But a funny thing happened on the way out of the building.  While I was dealing with paying the parking fee, the parking attendant appeared laughing beside me trying to get my attention.  I turned around and there was the nurse from the doc's office trying to help He-Who.  He had put his hooded jacket on backwards.  He looked hysterical and had no idea what was so funny.  She got him all straightened out before I could get my wallet back in my purse.  He has a difficult time getting his arms into sleeves.  I now lay out his clothes after locating the dirty ones which can be scattered all over the bedroom and closet.  Why he can't get them to the laundry basket in front of him I'll never know.  He wants to wear the same thing every day including underwear...typical I hear of the disease.  

Some days it is difficult to get him to eat.  I have read that Alz patients lose some of their sense of taste and only sense salt and sugar.  He eats dessert first if it is on the table and loves, loves, loves sweets of any kind.  He loves shrimp and fortunately it is served here frequently.  
Christmas was lovely...very low key.  He had picked out a sweater at Target that he liked; I wrapped it and gave it to him Christmas morning...he was surprised, no memory of picking it out.  Smile!

So how am I?  Obviously not blogging regularly.  There are some days better than others.  It has been six months here and I still have the feeling that we are on vacation somewhere and will go home soon.  I had a real down couple of days after going on a Brookdale excursion to see neighborhood Christmas lights.  I was so homesick for my old neighborhood and my old home.  I miss my old "life" but know my old life wasn't much different than this one as far as being able to leave He-Who for long.  I had some minor surgery in November and it went well but am still having some recovery issues.   But all will be well soon.  Our daughter came and took great care of her dad while I was in the hospital and I took advantage of her when going to meetings in Clear Lake.  But she and her partner have moved to Conroe, north of Houston, so I will have to drop my commutes to Clear Lake, darn it.  At this point I need to refocus our commitments closer in.  I can leave He-Who for a couple of hours and he does fine.  I have installed a small white board in the kitchen where I post the schedule for the day.  That has been a success and gives him security in knowing what is happening and when.
2015 is going to be great.  We will be healthy and wise and do more and be more.  I will continue to work on being comfortable here and recruiting support when I need it.  I give up on resolving to be a regular blogger but who knows...I will still be writing and hope to add painting.
May all be well with you and yours,
Happy New Year!

3 comments:

  1. Great photo of the two of you! Love it..........Kay, I must tell you I've always been a 10 hours at night person to sleep. From 10PM til 8AM......so I wouldn't worry about that. I'm so glad you have the move behind you! THAT was major! And your surgery! Woo hoo..........2015 should be a good YEAR. John is FINALLY divorced and is moving into an unfurnished 4 bedroom house for $240USD a month. Now all we need to do is find beds, a fridge and a few other pieces of furniture to make it liveable. He has the children four days a week now.........little by little. Big HUGS, miss you often.

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  2. But it's the. 3 to 4 hour nap on top of the 12 hours that concerns me.

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  3. Hi Kay
    I've just found your blog and have read your 2015 posts - your husband's "symptoms" sound so much like my dad's. He was sleeping and napping all the time, saving every newspaper and catalogue, "reading" the newspaper all day. My mum is a young 73 & couldn't cope and would get impatient with him, in the end she moved him into care. By that stage he didn't know who we were and only knew her sometimes - he progressed fairly rapidly but has now stabilized but is really just a shell of the man he was.
    Please take heart, I admire your patience and commitment to your husband so much - you are entitled to worry and get frustrated and wish things were different - esp when they aren't going to get better, but good on you for persevering & please find those couple of days for yourself - send him to that lovely care facility and have a break and some head space. He really won't mind once he's used to it and it will prolong the time before you need to do something more permanent. All my best wishes & I'll be following your journey and wishing you well.

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