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JOAN’S BLOG – TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2010 - TWO SPEEDS – SLOW AND STOP

For the first 35 years of our marriage, I tried to get my husband to slow down while eating. Leisurely dining was not in his vocabulary. Whether it was at home, a fast food emporium, or an upscale dining establishment, my husband wolfed his food down like a vacuum cleanerhttp://libertarianalliance.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/man-eating-burger_1426228i.jpg. Many wives have this same complaint about their husbands. I have no idea why so many men bend over their plates and shovel the food into their mouths at break neck speed.

Once Alzheimer’s Disease invaded our lives, I had more important issues to worry about than how fast my husband ate, so I have not mentioned it to him in years. Now, increasingly, I am noticing that he has gone completely in the opposite direction. He ordered steak and a large baked potato at a restaurant Saturday night. It was a small, ¼ “ thick steak. In previous years, it would have been gone in 60 seconds. I am a slow eater, always the last one finished, and when I was half way through my meal, I turned to my right to look at him. He was just finishing trimming the fat off of his steak, and had eaten ¼ of the baked potato. I could not believe it. When I had completed my meal, he was still cutting pieces off of his steak, and had eaten only ½ of his potato. After 3 decades of telling him to slow down, I was not about to rush him. I sat patiently until he was finished.

For the last year, six months in particular, I have noticed that everything about him has slowed to a crawlhttp://www.imageenvision.com/150/12624-man-crawling-clipart-by-djart.jpg. It takes 2 hours for him to shave, wash, and dress in the morning. Answering a question is a project. Five minutes after I have asked it, I gently prod him for an answer, and he says, “I’m thinking.” He moves, thinks, and talks in slow motion. And I do mean SLOW. So I guess it should be no surprise to me that he has become such a sluggish eater. Occasionally, I temporarily lose my own reasoning ability, and ask him why he is so slow. He always gives me the classic cover-up answer. “I’m retired. Do you know what retired means? It means I don’t have to hurry.” I do not know if he realizes he is so slow, or if he is in denial about it.

I understand what is happening in his brain - that Alzheimer’s Disease will continue to slow his movements and thinking, and I will wait for him because I have no choice. I just thought it utterly strange to see my vacuum cleanerhttp://handheld-vacuumcleaners.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/henry-vacuum-cleaner.jpg morph into a turtlehttp://www.waynet.org/waynet/spotlight/2004/images/07/turtle_back.jpg.

Just the odd musings of an Alzheimer wife.

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©Copyright 2010 Joan Gershman 
The Alzheimer Spouse LLC
2010 All Rights Reserved
Under penalty of copyright laws, this information cannot be copied or posted on any website, media, or print outlet, without referencing the author and website from which it was taken.

 

 

 

 

  

         

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