lets count. Queen of Poop- Diva of Doodoo -(esp like this one: folly) Poop Patrol Queen- PHd (doctorate)in Waste Management
yall go ahead and laugh..:) I may get the last laugh yet!!!it will have a whole nother meaning when it happens to you and bi-golly its goin too..just wait....and i dont wanna hear alot of boohooin and wimperin-and all that feelin sorry for myself etc.. divvi
You are totally amazing. Never in my life would I think that someone in our shoes could have the sense of humor you do. I am far from having to deal with the bathroom issues (I hope) but since joining this website, you single-handedly have shown me that there is another way to look at things. And really--the poop issue may be distasteful, stomach-turning, and really sad, but your attitude has shown me that it doesn't need to be a dead serious issue. Thank you so much for educating me on this. Yes, this disease brings changes--rage and aggression are the ones that come to mind--that are no joking matter. But you are helping me to see that other issues need to be kept in perspective. I think I have a pretty good sense of humor under normal circumstances, but it helps to "hear" someone like you that pushes the envelope.
divvi, "waste management engineer" is number 4 and I agree with marilyninMD that your sense of humor about the poop and hooligan things are refreshing. You are a good example to all of us.
Divvi, you really need to read about the Schitt family tree. It was posted by carosi on Why Is Caregiving So Hard? This had me in stiches when I really needed it this morning.
i LOVE the Schitty joke! its going to be my new poster motto now..:) Divvi i may hang a copy of that in my guest bathroom and 'listen' for the howling..
My DW was an Interior Decorator until 2000. She had been having symptoms of AD and reallized that she could not take care 0of her customers adaquately. She also had some trouble getting home after night calls. She was one of the best Decorators in No Dallas. She never had an unhappy customer. She did decorate the house we are in now just as she retired so we still have our house to talik (?) about now. Before that she had been primarily a mom and housemaker. I encouraged her to work so she could be prepared to make a living if something happened to me. Sadly, it was Carol who succombed to disease.
My husband was a banker doing real estate lending. He was a Vice President at Bank of America for about 15 years. Then they closed his loan office here in Denver, he went to work at another bank and then got a great opportunity at another bank. The issues started while he was there and he was laid off after a year. It took him 8 months to get another job (we still didn't know what was wrong), and was put on leave after 2 months. It was then that we found out he had AD and they let him go. The bad thing is he hadn't been there long enough to get disability or even much unemployment. Why couldn't this have happened when he was at BofAmerica? We do say that at least we have SSDI during this recession as he probably would have lost his job anyway! And he got a 5.6% raise this year! Gotta love the government.
Dh served in the Marine Corp in Viet Nam. He was an electrician until he retired 5 years ago. His dx came as a huge shock. Sorry, Divvi is rubbing off on me.
One day at a time - when we stopped to see the VA social worker the other day, the first question regarding his condition was: was he exposed to agent orange? and does he have diabetes? He served off the coast of Vietnam and as far as my hb knows he was not exposed to agent orange. Since they are investigating whether some AD is a type 3 diabetes and apparently they think there is a link between exposure to agent orange, this could get interest if this is found to be a type 3 diabetes (not necessarily connected to type1 and 2).
Divvi, That was my attempt at humor. Husband electrician - diagnoses big shock. Charlotte, I know what you mean about agent orange. He doesn't think he was ever exposed to it over there, but a lot of people were. So far no diabetes.
duh Divvi...how could you have missed that. You WERE having a bad day yesterday. I thought it was soooooooooo clever..and I gave her a "MARK in the air" for being so sharp!
Divvi, I'm glad you got my joke. That's what I meant about your humor rubbing off on me! Thanks, NancyB for my air mark. Your story about the pills and "are you talking to me" made me laugh out loud. Where would be we without a sense of humor. We have always been able to laugh and I miss it when things I say just go right over his head. That's a shame - I've always been so witty!!
Diabetes is on the list for diseases that might be caused by Agent Orange. We have a friend who gets 70 percent disability from the VA because he served in Viet Nam and now has diabetes. Everything that my husband has ever had wrong with him--constant ear infections which started in Viet Nam, bladder cancer, and now FTD--are not on the list so no disability.
My wife was an elementary school teacher in an urban school district for 35 years. Her passion was teaching disadvantaged children. She earned masters degrees in elementary education and reading instruction. When the school where she had taught for 30 years closed, a number of her former students (now parents and grandparents) requested that their children be bussed across town to be taught by same second grade teacher they’d had.
She was diagnosed three months before she retired. Her last year of teaching was a struggle but she made it though because she was always so well organized. When she retired she had over 300 accumulated sick days but I could not get her to use any of them.
danielp. welcome to the group. i see you are new. i hope you find all the info you need to get you thru this horrific journey alongside of the many dear members on this site. there is a wealth of info on the home page and lots of info in previous posts. divvi
Hi & Welcome Danielp, I am sorry for your need to join us, however, I am sure you will find everyone kind, helpful & non-judgemental. My husband is 58 years old with Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD) his problems started about 6 years ago now. Please feel free to post at anytime.
My LW Carol was the best Interior Decorator in No. Dallas. Did this for about 8 years and was amazing. did not do the real rich homes but No Dallas is a very good part of town. Her work was guaranteed and she never had a rejection.. Oh yes, one throw pillow which we still have in our home. We have a pretty good picture album of her work and she likes to llook at it but does not remember anything about the dedcorating. Her last accomplishment was our house in Rockwall where we moved as she was retiring. Everybody raves about her simple treatment of a plain home. I am so proud of what she did. Bill E.
I am new to the site and this is my first post. My sweet husband was in the Insurance and financial investment business for 25 years. Prior to that he was head of a radiology department at a local hospital (2 totally different careers!). As I said, I am new at this, but will post more info on my story on another blog. Have been looking for site like this to share my story. Looking forward to talking with others who know what I am going through!!!
hello aw!! you are going to be very happy you found this little oasis in the desert:) lots of folks here in all walks of life going thru the same misery with Alzheimers as yourself. we have members from all over. helping out whenever you call. will be looking forward to your posts. divvi
what a blessing to be welcomed so quickly! My husband was diagnosed at 56 (7 years ago) and I am only 55. As you might imagine, I am still working and trying to keep things together. It has been a very scray road and we have been thru a lot in the last 7 years. I will say this......I try not to complain b/c I know others are going thru the same and much worse. My husband has been very compliant, for the most part, but he is becoming increasingly more dependant on me! His communication skills are extremely poor and his ability to do his ADLs are gone. I must help him with most everything. I have just recently gotten a sitter/housekeeper (the only way to keep him from being agitated was to say she was a "housekeeper") and this has been a big help. There are so many issues, I don't even know where to begin..........................thank you for being here! I will continue to post.
AW-just jump in one of the posts and let it loose. you can purge anything and everything here no matter how gross or taboo nobody here judges and you will see the posts are quite shocking to alot who dont walk in our shoes. there is usually someone online here at all hrs of the day to help out or anwer or just hold your hand. divvi
My DH started a transformer company in our garage and eventually built it up into a company that manufactured components for all the early space shots. This week there is a celebration of the 40th anniversary moon walk, and you will again hear the words "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." When you heard those words and "Houston, we have a problem," and everything else, they came thru a small transformer about the size of a squared egg that my husband designed and manufactured that went into the communication system--along with many other parts, of course. But all the parts had to work together, to be fail-safe, and he was part of it, his inate intellect, his inate engineering skills--he never had an engineering degree, his business sense--he just had it all. So when 'experts' say to keep your mind busy to avoid dementia, do crossword puzzles, do this, do that--I say 'stuff it' they don't know what they are talking about. Reading all these posts, you just won't find a couch potato among them.
I have always been an avid crossword fan and I am a caregiver to a dementia spouse. Maybe it was a typo in the research documents and should have read "doing crossword puzzles will help you avoid dementia so you can be a caregiver." (grin)
My husband just has an 8th grade education. But he had a mind for math that was just unreal. He became an engineer in a lock company because of his ability. Latter he became a carpenter/contractor. He loved farming and animals. We had a business just before he retired. He loved to read books and did untill he could no longer follow the story.
Weejun, my husband was also a chemical engineer with a major oil company. Later our our own company although in an entirely different field was built upon the managerial skills and financial knowledge that he had learned there. He remembers the refinery job and his colleages from it much better than anything about the company that he himself founded and directed later on.