Thank you to ElaineH for introducing me to this forum. My husband is now at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, where I met Elaine and so happy to have found her. This forum seems very interesting and I know I will find helpful information.
Welcome aboard this bumpy, roller-coaster,coletteR. So sorry you have to be here, but it's the best place for information, support, you can rant and rave and no one will judge you. ElaineH - kudos to you for introducing coletteR to us!
Welcome coletteR, this is a great place with wonderful, caring people who have been and still are great caregivers to their joved one (LO). Those of us with a * after their name have lost their spouse but remain a very integral part of this forum to share their wisdom, experience and pain to help those of us still on the journey. I am glad you met FlaineH and found us. Please feel free to tell us all about you, your husband and we will answer any questions you may have if we can.
Thank you all! I am concerned that I am feeling relieved along w/my guilt and sorrow at having my husband now in a facility. He's only been there 2 weeks but asks to come home when I visit- how long does it take for both of us to adjust? ColetteR
Welcome to my website. I started this website in 2007 because I couldn't find anyone who would talk about how I felt - I thought I was the only one feeling the way I did about what Alzheimer's Disease was doing to my marriage. I needed a place that dealt with my unique issues as a spouse of an Alzheimer patient. This site is now a place of comfort for spouses/partners who are trying to cope with the Alzheimer's/dementia of their husband/wife/partner. The issues we face in dealing with a spouse/partner with this disease are so different from the issues faced by children and grandchildren caregivers. We discuss all of those issues here - loss of intimacy; social contact; conversation; anger; resentment; stress; and pain of living with the stranger that Alzheimer's Disease has put in place of our beloved spouse/partner.
The message boards are only part of this website. Please be sure to log onto the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and read all of the resources on the left side. I recommend starting with "Newly Diagnosed/New Member" and "Understanding the Dementia Experience".
Do not miss the "previous blog" section. It is there you will find a huge array of topics with which you can relate. There is a "search" feature on the home page that allows you to look up different topics that may have been explored in a previous blog. Log onto the home page daily for new blogs; news updates; important information.
Now to answer your question about placement. I placed my husband in August. It was the most heart wrenching experience I have ever had, and I have written about it in my blogs. I think it will help you understand your feelings and adjustment issues to read the blogs. Everyone adjusts on their own timetable. I'm still working on it. Copy and paste blogs below:
The rest have not yet been archived, so they are still on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com. When you log onto the home page, scroll down to the bottom for the first one, and then scroll up to read the rest.
"I Didn't Know What to Say" "Climbing out of the Abyss" "Adjusting to Placement" "Overdosing on Freedom" "Thanksgiving Blog"
Welcome to our club. Where members really don't want to be but are thankful to have a wonderful place like this and a great group of folks like these to help us all alone this dreadful journey.
coletteR, I so enjoyed meeting you & Sashi (her adorable little dog) at the Veterans Home. I'm so glad you looked us up here. I KNEW you would appreciate all the information here & the fact that we can all relate to what you are going through. Trevor (my grandson) was happy to meet you too & he said that he was happy that I found a new friend to talk to when I visit his PopPop. Welcome new Friend! Hope to see you soon.