This was hard to describe as a discussion topic. Last night, I told DH that I was going to take him to dinner for our anniversity next week. He told me that that was nice and asked "what are we going for?" I told him "for our Anniversity." This went back and forth and he was getting adgitated. I told him that he needed to say what he meant using different words because I had no idea what he meant. He then said, "What are we going for to eat?" I then told him two different meals that we like to eat. Although this has happened before and cause us both frusturation, this is the first time that he reworded it for me so I could understand and answer his question.
I am also seeing times when he tells me that he has said something to me or answered my question and I am sure that he has not said anything. He always blames it on my hearing problem. This also happened at noon today. I was fixing our lunch and I handed him his glass of milk. After a short pause, he said "I said thank you. If you won't acknowledge me when I speak then I won't tell you thank you any more." I am really sure that he did not say anything before he said this.
I see more and more of these things especially when he gets tired.
I think that when they start getting confused Mary, they defend themselves this way. There's enough in their heads that doesn't make sense. Some of this has to be you.
You begin to have to interpret scrambled communications more and more. Jeff can rarely understand a question correctly, OR articulate his thoughts, so I'm often trying to translate nonsense because it often seems clear that there is a real message trying to get through.
My guy has a favorite word that he uses for almost everything. He will say, I am going to get the "basket" when I ask what he is doing. This could be picking up dead flowers and throwing them over the wall, or , going to look for his jar of snacks. He calls all these things the basket.
So now I don 't correct him. I know it is so hard for him. I just try to interpret correctly. Sorry for your frustration Mary in Montana.
It's fortunate that your dh's still use words. My dh just makes a square or rectangle in the air for everything he is talking about such as mail, newspaper, food, etc. Very difficult sometimes to decipher what he means. Like your dh, Emily, mine just can't comprehend anymore. I can't use any descriptive words.
My dh is having those speech problems too and he uses words that make no sense at all and stutters.
Last night he said I would like some of that stuff I am kinda hungry.....I said what stuff....he just looked at me and tried to get a word out and couldn't....I said..do you mean pop corn... he said no....then I said I don't know what you want...then he said some of that white stuff.
Wow...all I could think of to eat that was white...is bread. So...I asked him if he wanted a sandwich... he said No....then he said something that sounded like ice...then it dawned on me he wanted ice cream.
This is a typical guessing game that goes on everyday.
As time goes on L gets harder to understand sometimes, especially after she sundowns. Missing words, wrong words, this and that. Sometimes she switches subject in midsentence because she can't think of the words necessary for the first thoughts. At least she doesn't get frustrated when she has these problems, but it hit me this weekend that I can now envision the day she will be without nouns.
Jeff did that just this morning, before I left his ALF. He wanted...a thing...one of those things that you eat... "An apple?" I asked. Yep, that was it. Apple craving fulfilled.