Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2006. Mattie was four years old and don't ask me how or why he decided to cool off in the kitchen sink, but there you have it. This was the many antics of Mattie. He went from being afraid of water, to absolutely loving it. Most times I would have to pull him out of a sink/bathtub because he was water logged. Of course no water play was complete without toys and cups, which were on the kitchen counter.
Quote of the day: Have you ever walked along a shoreline, only to have your footprints washed away? That's what Alzheimer's is like. The waves erase the marks we leave behind, all the sand castles. Some days are better than others. ~ Pat Summitt
When I got upstairs this morning, I could see that my dad marked off Tuesday and Wednesday in his hygiene chart. I have set up this chart by his bathroom sink, because he was brushing his teeth multiple times at night and shaving several times as well. My hope was that this check list would help. Again a BAD assumption, as my dad has NO concept of days and times. So each time he wakes up during the night, he thinks it is a different day. Which is why when he woke up throughout last night, he thought one moment was Tuesday and the next was Wednesday. So like downstairs, I just bought him an electronic clock/calendar. This second one will go in his bathroom. It is my hope that this will help orient him to time, day, and season! I now realize my check list, though helpful, shows his pervasive dementia and how it impacts his ability to function and be oriented to time and day.
He looks and smells much cleaner, which is important, now more than ever, with chemo treatment.
My mom started physical therapy today. I took her to her outpatient appointment. Her session was an hour and she liked the therapist and is positive about it helping to relieve her neck pain and improve her balance. As her head is hunched far forward, impacting how she stands and walks. Now of course, the kicker is my dad qualifies for outpatient physical therapy and speech. I just got a script for these therapies from his physical rehab doctor. The ONLY place to access speech therapy however is a hospital. So that means I am taking my dad to the hospital he went to for his pacemaker. He will get weekly physical and speech therapy. Which is a problem as my mom is doing PT at a different location. Unless I want to be shuttling them throughout the week to these sessions, I have to figure out how to get them into the same facility for therapy. Honestly I feel like I am never sitting still.
This afternoon, after I made lunch, I encouraged my dad to come out with us for frozen yogurt. He was hesitant, but came. I think it sunk into his head last night that he has dementia. As he truly did not think he had it, but when asked, I said.... yes you were diagnosed with dementia. I explained to him that everyone at the memory care center was diagnosed with a form of dementia. I see no purpose is lying about the reality. As I strongly believe that it is important to take an active role in one's physical and cognitive health each day. The more stagnant one is, the more I believe the body and mind turn into unusable matter.
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