Hi. It's been a while since I've been on the boards and longer since I've posted. Just wanted to let you all know that everything seems to be going well. It's been about 2 1/2 months since I placed DH in the Alzheirmer's facility. At first I think they were overmedicating him because all he did was sleep. After they cut back he is more alert but I'm not sure he really knows who I am. I go see him 3 to 4 times each week. I'm usually there at lunch time and help him with lunch. I am quite happy with ClareBridge. The staff is very kind and helpful. Only a couple of incidents: the time he slugged a caregiver in the jaw, which upset me more than it did them. He is a very peaceful person so I was shocked. Turns out it was caregiver error. She approched him from behind as he was sitting in the dining room and started talking him in a fairly loud voice. He had been kind of dozing as he sat there and just reacted. The next day a I got a call that he had fallen out of bed and had cut himself beside his right eye. They changed him from a twin bed to a full bed and pushed it against a wall. No problems since, but he sure ended up with a black eye. One of the caregivers has become very over protective of him, even with me, and the administrator had to tell her that she needed to back off just a bit, and that whenever I was there I was the boss. My biggest worry now is that he walks very stoop shouldered and always has his head hanging down. It makes it harder to feed him and he looks so uncomfortable. I've tried working with him to raise his head and get a little range of motion, but it seems to hurt him to have his head erect. Is this normal? Does the AZ person's muscles stiffin up like that or can it be worked on with therapy? It really bothers me, because he seems to have some problem swallowing with his head always hanging down. I have my first "care conference" with them next Wednesday. That should prove interesting.
So good to hear from you Gmaewok! Have been wondering how you are doing. I'm sorry I have no help on your hd's problem, hope someone else will be able to help.
gamrwok, my dh bent from the waist and bent his head also. Became more pronounced until final. He literally "walked like an ape". Complained of lower back pain most of the time. He could lay flat in bed or sit in his recliner fine but could not straighten his back and head while walking or standing. Actually he could not lift his head while sitting. I could never get him to use a walker until near the end. I searched on the internet one time and discovered this situation has a name. I believe it is Head drop and Camptocormia. His body position was like the hands of a clock at 2:30. His diagnosis was Parkenism with AD/VD.
As for the posture issue, same thing here, gmaewok and Imohr*. John got progressively "bent" over several years. Now, he only lies in bed which is more comfortable for him. Yes, 'Camptocormia' (which, I believe, literally means "bent spine"), Parkensinism and AD.
moorsb--from personal experience, a blow near the eye can cause a shiner. A blow to the eye itself definitely will, plus swelling, and potential injury to the eye itself. So a blow causing a cut near vthe eye, from falling out of bed, could easily cause a black eye. You should have seen what black ice on a handicapper ramp did to my glasses and eye one winter. <lol>
Hello Gmaewok, glad to see typing from you! I saw the condition you mentioned when I took DH to visit one of his friends at the Alz.Facility a month or so ago. The friend was formerly tall, straight etc. I think he's been in that facility for a couple of years now..but he had difficulty raising his head. Didn't know it had a name. Again, good to 'see' you..
Well, I'm still spending time with Clyde at least 3 or 4 times a week. The therapists have been working with him to hold his head up and he's doing a lot better. Amazing what they can do. I'm getting to know the staff and am thankful that they are all so loving and caring. They become very protective of their residents, and one caregiver was even a bit too protective (possessive) and was told that when I am there, I am the boss. I find myself becoming emotionally involved and concerned for several of the residents. One "couple" in particular, has stolen my heart. She is a widow, and I believe he is a widower. Her name is Barbara and his is Mark. However, her deceased husband was Bob, so she calls him Bob (The staff often call him Mark/Bob). They are inseparable. They always sit together and nearly always walk together, holding hands. His room is right next to hers. When one is taken out by family for a visit the other one is lost and wanders around looking for the "missing" one. They are always full of smiles and love to visit, and to laugh. I always stop and spend a little time with them. They "report" that Clyde is doing well, and that they are watching after him for me. They both still seem quite high functioning. Jack always says "Hello, Hello, Hello" and waves. He likes it when I stop and talk with him. Each resident is at a different stage of the dementia and each one is very special. I find myself wanting to hug them and to make then know they are loved....just as they are.
I always take the time to chat with the residents. I have learned not to take my purse in with me as they love to go exploring. They are all a part of my extended family.
When my Uncle was in the NH, at one point one of the lady residents decided he was her husband which upset my Aunt a great deal. I didn't like it much either as this woman could get quite nasty with anyone who got near him. Others "residents"were generally happy to see anyone who came to visit anyone there and would smile and wave and generally be of good cheer. It is really a sad situation for those suffering this disease and for the loved ones who are not remembered well and for the confusion that is caused at the NH with other residents.
when I would visit Bob there was a lady there who always got herself stuck in the corner of the dinning room, I would go and get her out and got the biggest smile, such a sweet lady, I miss her but can`t bring myself to go back to the nursing home to see her. Gail
Marygail.I know how you feel not being able to go back to that nursing home.When my Mom passed away in a nursinghome she had been in 5 yrs.,I could not go back even tho I had made friends with so many of the residents,but I missed visiting them so much that I volunteered at a different home and am still going 1 or 2 afternoons a week,8yrs.later.For some reason it seems to help me cope with my husbands AZ.
I see my DH bending over more when he walks or stands and I have to point to the ceiling to get his head up for me to shave him. We use the rented wheelchair for our walks as he feels very comfortable and in control (but I still have to guide the chair or he will go into the street or brush). I began this when he was fainting a lot and I needed something for him to sit in and I could push. No way could I carry him. But still he walks so bent over I am almost as tall as he is (he is 6' 2" and I am just under 5' 2"). Sometimes we butt heads when I am washing him or putting on lotions. His arms just hang. When I am helping DH it feels almost like working with a dead person as there is no real help coming from him. Sometimes when he is in his recliner eating, he will lean so far to one side I don't know how he can eat. I try to prop him up so he is straight but he is a dead weight when I try to move him and he doesn't appreciate it. I worry about his arm falling asleep. But he seems to get the food in ok. DH also seems to not see things correctly - I point and he can't follow even though I know he has good vision. It is like being with a blind person sometimes. Guess this all goes with the illness. Thanks
Brindle, my dh did all the things you mentioned in your last post . His diagnosis was Parkenism with AD and VD. I think the head bending over is called "head drop", the bending from the waist I think is a Parkenson symptom and the leaning to one side is in the late stages. Not seeing things is also a common problem.
I enjoy spending time with the other residents at Charlie's facility ( I have even found a two who are related to me and 1 that used to work with my 1st husband.) Spending time with them serves a couple of purposes. I truly enjoy chatting with them and I have found that even though I talk to Charlie, telling him about the weather and my day at work and that I love him, that is not really conversation. If I am talking to others and they are responding, he sits very quietly as if he is listening, which I am sure he is, there is just no way to know what he understands. I think he just enjoys the sound of my voice and/or the tone of conversation.
When my mom was in the NH we'd play bingo. She loved bingo. But, I volunteered to help some of the AD patients with their cards. I truly enjoyed doing this and the people I helped were so happy to have me there. My mom, though, was very jealous. She didn't want me doing it, she wanted me to be at her side. She said I had come to see her, not the others. Oh, well. That was my mom. But, some day, when things quiet down over here, I'm going back there and help those people play bingo!