This is the Heading !! .. the beginning of a blog May 18, 2016
Let's be vague: ...
After my mom fell, Nov 2014.. she went further downhill than before.. Episodes of stressful situations.. Deaths and a very irritating JERK of a neighbor that yelled at her..(for 5 years).
So, we moved my mom in after she had to stay in the hospital.. 5-6 days, and she couldn't go back to her apt!! in the Winter @this Northern Hemisphere ??..
.. She wound up in the hospital again, in April 2015. .. In May, ;we went to the Geriatric Evaluation.. I guess I STILL have questions, a year later. Not sure what more I should be doing. If it weren't for her pains: Pain in the left arm, Pain in the back .. Pain in the hip .. maybe she would have been OUT and had some fun. Go to a senior center and go visit friends?? But, she's forgetful and in pain, doesn't sleep well.. complains about being fat in the gut (but she's not FAT.. she's 120 pounds!!) ..." IT's too hot and it's too cold and on and on.."
I'm looking at various sites to give me some ideas on what to do, where to go.. what else I may have to "look forward to"..
Alzheimer-s-Caregivers-More-Likely-to-Develop-Dementia
Oh boy, Oh boy! .. thanks for that one!! .. I will have a heightened risk for developing dementia, just because I'm acting as a caregiver for a loved one!? .. The Isolation .. the Stress ... and depression!?
It says that I need to take a break once in a while.. is that a few hours a day or do they mean take a week off !!???
From this link : Caregivers-Find-Support-From---
"Mom needs to go to the doctor or have her diaper changed.
Dad has to be fed and kept from wandering out of the house.
Siblings have to be begged to help and tough skin must be
developed when the caregiver is told what they do doesn't
matter enough that they will receive help."
--AT least I don't have to go that far, yet.*. Mom's got her physical needs under
enough control to not need me to change a diaper, and she doesn't wander,
tho' , I'd imagine that if it was easier to get around for her, and easier to open
the doors, she could wander. She did say to me that she's not comfortable to
go outside, all the way across the street, to the mail box and BACK?? ..
*Well, how times change!! Nov.1, 2017, mom had another fall, in the street,
went by ambulance to hospital, stayed a week, then to a rehab : where :
oops.. she was found on the floor, picked up and put back in bed by two
night time nurses and BIG OOOPS: she got driven to the hospital to verify
that she DID have a broken hip.. Let's hear it for REHAB !!?
Since Dec 5th, we changed how our house was, refit it for her needs and
brought mom back home.. there WAS some help from the state.. personal
care people coming in.. and we paid for someone else to come in, but how long
can one afford that LUXURY!? .. Had to stop the extra help by March, and then
the state help was there, still.. but NO ONE TO STAFF IT.. so, up SH*T Creek for us.
Two month with No Personal help.. no family help (well, where WAS there any
"family" help?? a total of 3 days??) We got one respite in April, and are due for
another one in July. .... SIGH! ...
...
guilt-stop-feeling-guilty!
" Get used to it – the guilt I mean. The phone thing was just one of the
games I had to play. When Mom would call the first time, I'd answer
and see how she was doing. The second time, I'd gently try to let her
know she had just called. The third time – well, sometimes it just
seemed better to ignore it. I knew she would be embarrassed
(or else think I was lying, depending on the day) if I told her she'd
called 3X within 15 minutes. It seemed kinder to just not
answer the phone and let her forget that she called."
THIS is what bothers me the most.. it's been for 2 years at this point..
Repeating things to me!! Not a phone call, (not sure she can use the phone anymore??)
but the same information,over and over and over. ..
I'm told I should probably adopt a new way of retorting..
Just smile and pretend I didn't know.. and nod.. and stop
feeling so annoyed!! .. Be an actress.
It goes against my grain/brain,
to deceive and weave.
Getting Peeved.
Maine Gov:
maine.gov-/caregiver-support
Southern Maine Area on Aging:
smaaa.caregiver
eventsMay2016
Events.2016June
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES:
VolunteerMaine
SMAA.Volunteer
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Other things I looked at today:
there are 80-90 types of Dementia .. they affect at least 2 parts of the brain. there are:
Chronic Progressive Dem., Vascular Dem., Fronts-Temperal Dem (aka Picks), Primary Progressive Aphasia, Huntington's .. to name a few..
She's had a Neuro-psychological workup .. but I don't recall anything said about what type she has!? I shall call them and ask.
There are Neurologists, Gerantricians, Geripsychoiatrists .. NeuroPsychologists.
Some people get EEG's, MRI's, CT Scans .. as there could be Fluid, Tumors, a stroke .. So, another question to ask.. why didn't she get one of those?
I looked at 12 RX's that may increase the likelyhood of a fall. AntiThrombotics (warfarin), drugs for peptic ulcers or GERD, Diuretics, NSAIDS (women only), B12 & Folic Acid, constipation drugs,
Calcium, Hypnotic sedatives, analgesics, Opiods and Anti-depressents. .. hmmm she takes a few of these Items..
