My Race. Our Challenge.
When you told me the other day how my mom is showing signs of agitation, that she resists re-direction, gets into everything, and that she sometimes makes fists and gives dirty looks, I was really thinking – And your point is . . . ? Mom has a brain disease. She has advanced dementia, Alzheimer’s [...]
My family met with hospice yesterday and my mother qualifies for care under the diagnosis of “debility,” also known as failure to thrive. It’s my understanding that mom didn’t qualify under “dementia” because she can still walk. When you look at my mom you wouldn’t think she’s ready for hospice, but when you put everything [...]
My mother, who has advanced Alzheimer’s disease, had a grand mal seizure last Thursday that left her unconscious and earned her a trip to the hospital. She’s back home and appears to be recovered, but she’s declining rapidly and we’ve been advised to contact hospice. It’s been suggested that my mom has less than 6 [...]
There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings, given to us to learn from. ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross “I think your mom has about a year,” is all I remember from my first visit with mom last week. I didn’t get a chance to ask questions until our Care Meeting on Wednesday, but by [...]
Mom has been having what I like to call “tummy trouble” and what mom’s caregivers like to call “emesis” but what is actually, bouts of vomiting since the end of December. Mom went to the doctor, she had tests, and we were getting nowhere trying to figure out the cause of the tummy trouble. Finally, [...]
My husband Vince recently had the good fortune of visiting Minneapolis for business. And this was a great opportunity to visit my family while there! Vince did the usual things with my dad and brother that included going to a locally famous hamburger joint to eat “Juicy Lucys,” watching Monday Night Football, and then going [...]
Visiting family and friends in Minnesota is one of my favorite things to do, but it always goes by too fast. With my mom in the mid-stages of Alzheimer’s disease and her recent move to an Assisted Living Home, I feel the need to visit more often. If you’ve seen “The Stages of Alzheimer’s and [...]
Visiting with my mom is always an adventure. I never know what she’s going to say or do and it’s fascinating to watch and participate in her crazy shenanigans. My goal was to keep her laughing. As long as she was doing that, then I figured we were okay. Or maybe that just made it [...]
September 2012 -- Mom and I in the backyard of her Assisted Living Home, 7 years after her diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease.