I had such an awful day yesterday. Had no idea how I'd get through today. Dropped hb at day care and went to play golf. Started out by myself. Slow guys ahead of me so I practised putting. I actually made birdie on the second hole. Was having quite a peaceful time and playing well. Three older gentlemen were ahead of me and on the fourth hole they asked if I'd like to join up with them rather than waiting. I am so glad I did. They were so friendly and fun and encouraging. It was slow, so I had to quit at 9 holes, but it was an awfully nice morning. When I left one of the guys came over and said I was the only fun thing out there.
It is amazing to watch. I remember back at the beginning of this a woman who owns a macadamia orchard near it was hoping the lava would spare her family farm. Not heard whether is has so far, but sure a lot of other damage -if not by lava by cracks.
Guess Joan is too busy to come here to get rid of the spam. She shared a post yesterday on Facebook so she has been online.
Charlotte, Joan has been deleting the spam right along, sometimes even before people see it. It's usually posted sometime after 11 p.m. ET, so most nights before I go to sleep I check the site and email Joan if there's spam. Sometimes she has already gone to bed, though, and other times she's been in too much pain to focus on it. Also, sometimes she deletes it and more appears! I can't stand the spam, either, and that's why I check it when I can (Like I have something else to do!) and let Joan know. If anyone else wants to be a spam monitor, be my guest.
Elizabeth, that guy's comment has had me thinking. He was a bit intimidated playing with a gal I think, at first. He warmed up quickly. Later he said he used to have a 4 handicap, playing to a 2. Not sure what that means, but he was very good when he was a young man. He was sore that day from running a race the day before! I didnt ask their ages, but this guy probably in his 80s. Still playing golf. Fun with his buddies, but I guess a stranger reminds him of better days when he wouldn't just be keeping up with a "sweet young thing". That really made me laugh. So it really meant a lot when he said it was fun playing with me! I was very grateful for the experience. They play every Tues and Thurs and said I was welcome to join them any time. Pretty cool.
This morning I found myself wondering if there is a cosmic rule or something that says, no matter how small the bit of poop that drops on the floor, the person with alzheimers MUST step in it and track it across the bathroom floor and along the carpet in a.meandering fashion. Discovering one demoralizing new rule after another.
I never thought of this when I was caring for DH (no pets at that time), but I wonder if anybody has tried the Natures Miracle Stain and Odor Remover...meant for "accidents" by pets...I bet it would help a lot after cleaning up human's urine or feces from the carpets. It's available from Amazon or in pet stores. A good product.
They do work for human urine - use to use it when kids/grandkids had 'accidents'. The pet stuff is basically enzymes that break down the enzymes in urine so they don't smell.
I received back my test results for the Apoe 2,3,4 genotype. I have E3/E3 which means I am at no increased risk for AD or cardiac disease. The E3/E4 or E4/E4 gives you the biggest risk factor for AD. I can still become a victim of AD but only 25% chance. I might have hb tested to see if he has E4/E4 since he did not have the Pres1 or 2 genes.
Last night around 9 he came back to the bedroom to say he was going for a walk. I told him no because it was dark. A guy we know and knows about his condition, told me yesterday that the other day he brought hb home because he couldn't remember where he lived. Now this guy is about 10 rv's down from us and it was daylight, but gave me fair warning not to let him go anywhere other than to check mail which so far has not been a problem. It is not the first time it has happened. If he goes to the laundry he has trouble finding his way back.
Am I the only one showing spam from 3 and 4 days ago? I even tried cleaning my cache in case that was why.
I was hoping he would stop playing with glasses. I was letting him use my extra pair of sunglasses. He has played some with them but until today not broken them. He broke one of the bows totally off. So much for the thinking of putting the money out for a new pair of regular glasses for him. I feel sorry that things are blurry for him but not sorry enough to put money out for them.
He was over at the neighbors a while ago. She asked where I was and he said in the motorhome. She wanted to let me know Dakota was running out of patience with him. Dakota is protective of both but when her husband is not home he is more so. Art could not keep from touching her on the shoulders which was making the dog nervous. Also, she said he was not making sense and slurring his speak. Probably more like having trouble finding the words. He also has a habit of stepping in front of vehicles that he thinks he knows who they are. Most have been gracious about it but one of these days either they might be in a bad mood or someone who doesn't know his condition and call the police or something.
I think I will send an email to his primary (for good that may do) and his neurologist. Getting lost in the park and the other behavior can definitely be a danger to himself.
I am just ignoring the spam. Although I am a bit curious as to why they think alzheimers people would want to contract with chinese companies making bibcocks,.etc.???
How is every ones weekend going? Just another day in the 'life of riley?" Yesterday I was horrible to him. I was in tears last night so fed up and tired of this. Of course one of my triggers is the cat. I told him I was getting rid of both the cat and dog. His reply: then do it. Not what I wanted to hear. So this morning I thought "I would take two of my wellbutrin - maybe that would help. this evening as I was refilling he pill containers noticed I forgot to take yesterdays. Well, that explains much of my bad day yesterday. He did irritate me this afternoon. I went in about 3:30 to take a nap. I am not a napper but sometimes give in. About every 15 minutes, just as I was almost asleep he would come walking down to the bedroom. I can hear his footsteps and the MH moving. I did get cat naps then finally up at 6 to fix him some dinner.
I agree bhv - why would we want to buy any of that stuff period? Evidently they just put it wherever they want without thinking if the audience would be interested.
Hi Charlotte. Sorry you are having one of those days. I was.thinking about you as I saw a.number of motor homes going out for the holiday weekend. I am very thankful.for having more space. Last week when I kept getting all stressed out with the day care situation I ended up taking naps when I got him home. It was a.weird week for me. One of those days I thought he came up there to find me, but couldn't figure out if he really did or if I just dreamed it. This weekend I am calming down. Did a bunch of yard work. Back into the strenuous manual labor stuff but need to lose some weight and build muscles and endurance. I actually mowed the lawn with no asthma attack this time. That was helpful. Then tried to.change a sprinkler head and, of course, the pipe broke. Thankfully I had enough parts to fix it. Yesterday I wasn't very nice to him though. He peed in so many different places around the property and in the garage I was too frustrated to be nice. Other than that, it seems that I am feeling much more positive now that he is not threatening me at every turn. I actually got him to go for a walk with me Friday.and today. He is losing a lot of muscle mass sitting around all the time. He is slow and lags way behind but it doesn't seem to bother him, so I just made sure to be within his sight range. He was out of breath when we got back. I hope your Monday is a better day. Hugs.girlfriend.
Got up to 93 today but tomorrow is suppose to be only around 80. Will be nice - a door and windows open day!!Right now we having winds from west which will blow the heat out and cool us down.
Took a trip to Walla Walla today. There was a little house for rent I went to look at (about 75 miles away). It is a cute older house that has been remodeled some - vinyl in the kitchen and laminate in the rest of the house. It backs up to a creek where there is a concrete 'curb' that goes all the way across creating a waterfall effect. The house has 2 small bedrooms enough room for a queen bed and not much more. Of course the pictures he sent me made it look much bigger. The livingroom is a good size. It also comes with a w/d and I would have to mow the lawn. There are a few in the neighborhood who have RVs parked next to their house so IF I could fit the MH in the driveway I should be able to lawfully. There is an awning on the dining area window which would have to come down. He is renting it for $655 which includes all utilities, electric, cable and internet. He says he just wants someone in there who will take care of it.
With him now being more confused, walking out in front of people to get them to stop and chat; he is scaring people - he walked up to a lady in the spot our friend use to be in thinking it was her I guess and according "j' next door she ran into her trailer. Even 'j' is getting uncomfortable with his need to touch and afraid her dog will react one of these times - which is a valid fear. She says he is slurring but actually it is not being able to find the words and/or get them out.
A lot to think about. The VA there is the main campus in the district. They have real doctors there. But I have to remember once he is placed that won't matter - it will be Medicaid's choice. They do have day care in WW but I don't know if it is a lock facility. Maybe I will call tomorrow and ask them. Would have to change all my doctors too.
Wow, you are hotter than we are down here. But I went swimming today anyway. He is wearing his sweatshirt and didn't ask to go in the pool. Lately he just gets up after a little while and goes in the house. Doesn't say anything.
House sounds interesting. Good idea Charlotte.
Can't help but wonder if Medicaid would place him if you described these behaviors or would they call.adult protective services and say you aren't providing enough supervision? I am afraid of some of the self righteous people in the world telling me I am not doing enough. My father worked on adult protective srrvices but the cases he told me about were frail adults alone with no family to help them. He became guardian for some of them. Don't know what they would do in this situation. I worked in child protective services and we would remove the children from the home and place in foster care. Then we would work with the family and sometimes do supervised visits or help them get back on their feet in various ways. Maybe it would force a medicaid placement. I just don't know. And who could a spouse safely ask???
I really could care less if they said I was not supervising him enough. I would tell them they can supervise him! He has become a danger to himself just like if someone is a wanderer. I guess time will tell. Not sure when I will get a reply from my initial app to DSHS. The next step I think is more paperwork with financial information and a visit from a social worker.
Sad thing is as we drove around the neighborhood a few times did not see one person outside or people chatting. That is a big difference between RV parks and regular neighborhoods, even apartment living.
I agree it is difficult to get to know neighbors sometimes. I have become afraid to try because we invariably end up with at least one psychotic neighbor everywhere we have lived. Too many to count!
I just downloaded the info at myhealthevet and was amazed that all of the notes from the people we have seen over the last coipke of months are exactly what really happened! I am amazed because the neurologist we saw copied notes from a.template and he didn't discuss any of the stuff he said in his notes. I continue to be pleasantly surprised with the VA.
I have found with the VA that they say they talked about things or do things they never did. That irritates me because it is falsifying medical records.
bhv - I agree it can be difficult to get to know neighbors. When we moved here that's when my husband's dementia really started to show & we didn't know the neighbors or anyone else (except for our daughter) since we moved out of province. We met the neighbors & they are nice, the majority of them are all younger than us - they work & are busy raising their children. We've met a few that are our age, so they understand better the hardship of moving & dealing with a spouse who's declining. But it's not the same as neighbors we've known for years. Before moving we lived in our house for 37 years & the majority of the neighbors had lived there as long as us -it's a good feeling having history with your neighbors.
There's a woman back in our home town, who took care of her husband with dementia & was telling me at the beginning before her hd got too bad, their neighbors would come to visit & sit with him, so it gave her a break. The neighbors had known him for years & were comfortable with him & felt bad he was sick. Eventually, of course that stopped - it became to difficult for the neighbors to handle, but at least she had that for a little while. I can think of a couple of our old neighbors that would have probably visited my hd, to give me a break - that certainly didn't & couldn't happen here. It's difficult enough to meet & make friends with new neighbors under ideal circumstances - but when someone has dementia, almost impossible.
Good luck Charlotte in looking for a new house. That's a very difficult decision.
Totally agree Nicky same thing happened to us. Moved not knowing that Lisa was already well on her way with alz. Hard enough to make new friends you make a lot of your friends through work or through your kids but when you are a bit older not working no kids around you really have to put yourself out there and how do you do that when your spouse has dementia. Not easy. Good luck to both you and Charlotte.
I have been working for 2 years on my genealogy for a couple years in MyHeritage but stopped a year ago. With some of my family doing DNA testing in Ancestry.com thought I would start new there. Yesterday working on family tree I connected up with my nephew I have not spoken with or seen since the 50s. He is my oldest brother's son. He was one of the reasons I was an aunt when I was born - he is 5-6 years older than me. His dad was my brother by my dad's first marriage. He was also only 2 years younger than my mom! His sister was 4 months younger than my mom! I always had fun with that fact. I let my sister who is the same age as him and has more memories know. She emailed him her phone number and they talked for over 2 hours tonight. She said I made her day! Rarely get a compliment from her so it was unexpected. I know very little about that side of the family so will be interesting to find out and maybe get to know my nephews, nieces and their kids and grandkids - maybe someday in person.
I sent the guy an email this morning telling him I would not be taking the house and my reasons - mainly he might sell it forcing me to move and no spot to park the RV. Never heard back from him.
I do these fun quizzes on Facebook and the answers about peronality or who I am are so off but one recent one hit it on the nail:
"She has had to fight the challenges of a sometimes difficult life, and she has won every battle. She is amongst the strongest of souls and never lets negativity bring her down. With ever obstacle she becomes stronger, wise and more confident in herself.
Wow, Charlotte, you really are an amazing person! Your personality shines through despite what has been a challenging life! Sometimes the world hasn't treated you that well, but from all that you have learned, you have become the amazing person you are today! Stay true to yourself, and you will always be an inspiration!"
The second time I did it this is what I got - not sure about all this one says but maybe someday:
"Many people have tried to prevent you from being happy, but no one had even succeeded. She was born a strong and courageous soul, whose spirit will never break in the face of negativity. She was put on this earth to love, spread laughter and defend all who she loves.
Wow, Charlotte, you really are an amazing person! Your personality shines through despite what has been a challenging life! Sometimes the world hasn't treated you that well, but from all that you have learned, you have become the amazing person you are today! Stay true to yourself, and you will always be an inspiration!"
Hi Charlotte, That's too bad about the house, but I can see that the risk is too high. I'm glad that you had some good news on the genealogy front and hope you'll be able to follow up on it some day.
Yes, I've been reading your posts with a lot of enjoyment, Charlotte. (And I agree with what the Facebook quiz says, btw.) I was a little worried about that rental house, too, for the same reasons you said. That is why when I moved back to NY, I moved into a big, professionally-managed apartment complex. I didn't want the potential problems of renting a house (or half of a duplex), and dealing with some eccentric landlord. Or with a landlord who would move me out after a year because he wanted the place for his relatives.
Muggy and warm here this morning--getting some thunderstorms later. Bleahh.
Mary75, are you okay? Have not heard from you for a while.
Hi Charlotte, I think that quiz was right on too. I was thinking about you yesterday, how you worked to get that tv mounted even with an injured shoulder, and made the curtains. I still havent gotten around to making mine. Am still designing the embroidery work I want to try on them. But I finally broke down and cleaned the stupid mini blinds so no rush for curtains.
I've been working clearing brush again. Really want to get it done before it gets really hot. Finished a big stretch along one side of the property today! I like finishing things. I took some cutting off a.desert plant out front and tried planting them in another spot. And I stuck some geranium cuttings in the ground out there too. Geraniums crack me up. When I was a kid we would buy a geranium plant for my grandmother every Mother's day. That was in NY. Here in Ca they are like weeds. They become bushes. They don't need much water. They don't even seem to need good dirt. Maybe these cuttings will grow. I don't hold much hope though. There are very few plants that will grow for me.
Bonnie - do you ever post pictures of all your labors like on Facebook or can you email some to me?
I have a guy I have known since the 90s who lives in Australia. He posted a picture today of a cockatoo looking into a traffic cam. Now the only cockatoo I see here are in cages, not in the wild, there they are. That is what makes this country (and world) so fascinating - what has limited growing in one area is widespread in others.
We have hooded orioles here. They are brilliant yellow.and black. They come every year around St Patrick's day. They must have had several.babies. A few minutes ago there were 5 or 6 of them on the feeder outside our living room window. That's pretty exciting. I took some pics of a red racer that visited yesterday. At first I thought it was a bright orange hose on the fence, but didn't remember using a hose there. Then it was along the ground and I realized it was a snake. About 5 feet long. These are the fastest snakes in the desert. Non-poisonous, but they do bite. They eat rattle snakes so they are our friends. I see your email is listed on your profile - still correct? I will.email some pics. My email starts with bhv - so you will know it is from me.