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- Melanie
I shouldn't be here right now.
I should be in Maine, lunching on oh, I dunno, let's say broiled oysters right now.
I'm not.
My mother-in-law had an Alzheimer's episode beginning (we think) Sunday evening. She hadn't taken any medication since then, anyway. Her neighbor found her wandering down the street Monday afternoon, disoriented and filthy. Tried to persuade her to come back to the house, but she was resistant and quite agitated. The neighbor called Huz, who luckily was only five minutes away. He showed up and asked her "Mom, where are you going?" "Home."
And in his perfect way, he knew just what to say. "Well, you're going the wrong way. Come with me."
And she did.
Without knowing that what he's doing is the exact, right way to treat her, my husband does what he has to. And does it exactly right. His presence alone is calming to her. But I'm not sure how much longer he'll be able to handle her. This episode is different. She's perseverating more, she's much more anxious, and much less coherent.
But anyway, back to our story. He got her home, called me, and then called his sister. While he was on the phone with her, his mother crawled into bed and went to sleep. Still wearing her glasses, and her dirty clothes. She had vomited and voided, and that's more than you need to know about that. I showed up, and we cleaned up the house some. She'd vomited in the hallway outside the bathroom, and dirtied her rocking chair when she sat in it. Huz spoke with her neuro, who said he didn't think it was a stroke or a reaction to her meds, but just another Alzheimer's episode, this one more advanced. (I should also mention that she got lost on a walk in the neighborhood last week, and someone on an adjacent street had to drive her home.) We decided to just let her sleep.
Huz went back the next morning, and found her not much more improved. He spoke again with her neuro, and it was decided to check her into the hospital. He spent much of the day in the ER with her, waiting for a bed to become available. We were still considering sticking to our vacation plans, and my brother-in-law was going to come up from Florida and "mind things." But Huz realised by the end of the afternoon that it simply wasn't going to work. He's her only next-of-kin here, and he would be needed should any major decisions have to be made.
So here we are. MIL will be evaluated by social workers, and she's having x-rays, CAT scans, and other tests. When they asked her what year it was, she answered, "1955." When they asked her who the president was, she gave the name of her priest. My sister-in-law is checking out facilities in Florida, because as it stands MIL is too far gone for the Catholic Charities facility they looked at up here just last year. Huz says she's still very bad today. The phrase he used was "a step above a vegetable."
So no vacation. No getting away from the stress of our daily lives, because just when you think you're about to, they come chasing after you, scrabbling at your coattails.
And now we get to stand here helplessly, and watch her mind shatter.
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a very fine cat indeed - Friday, Jan. 17, 2014
happy new year! - Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013
this is where i am - Saturday, Jun. 30, 2012
this is how it is - Friday, Feb. 24, 2012
a very late last year's wrap-up - Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012
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