Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2007. That week we took Mattie to Boston to visit Peter's parents. Mattie found their backyard intriguing because there was always wildlife to look at, chipmunks to follow, and lots of green space to run around in. All things he did not have a lot of while living in the city. It was in this backyard that Mattie fell in love with chipmunks. So much so that in kindergarten he wrote a story all about Chippy the chipmunk.
Quote of the day: There are two types of people in this world, those who would take an Alzheimer’s patient on a joy ride and those who would say it was a waste of gas. Which one are you? ~ unknown
Tonight's quote is intriguing! Which one are you??? Putting aside a joy ride, you really could replace that term with anything. Such as would you take an Alzheimer's patient out to a restaurant, on vacation, or help with a log book? The instinctual answers is most likely YES. Or perhaps it is NO. There really is no right or wrong answer. It truly depends on the caregiver of the person with Alzheimer's disease and what the caregiver can manage and accept.
I am very well aware of the fact that my dad remembers NOTHING from one minute to another. With that in mind, it would be easier to leave him in one place all day knowing full well that he wouldn't know or remember. If he can't remember then why do anything with him at all??? This is the complexity of caring for someone with Alzheimer's. Because if left in the care of the wrong person, a rapid decline in health would ensue.
I guess I learned when caring for Mattie, that it is important to me to be happy with myself at the end of the day. Which means that I have to give my caregiving role my 100% and perhaps do things that most would deem silly or a waste of time. After all, I doubt my dad is getting one iota of benefit from his speech therapy daily logs. The only one frustrated with them is me. Yet why do I still do them? I do it because there is still a glimmer of hope that I have that something I do will be recorded in his brain or that it will trigger something.
Now if I did not have my mom with us, would our life look different? Most likely yes. My dad is much more of a home body and happy to be planted. So though I would get my dad up and moving, we most likely wouldn't be leaving the house that often. My mom needs to get out everyday and do something. She and my dad are like polar opposites. So to accommodate her, I am going out and that usually means my dad is in tow. It adds to the complexity of my day to day routine.
My mornings are simply ridiculous. After getting myself showered and dressed, and breakfast made, I then need to shower my dad and get him dressed and downstairs to eat breakfast. This morning my dad went off of his memory care center, but there was no break for me. Instead, I was busy prepping dinner, doing laundry, creating templates for my dad's daily logs, answering Foundation email, and the list goes on. I juggle a ton and I always feel like I am playing.... to beat the clock. Because at a certain time I know my mom will be ready to go out and that means I have to stop what I am doing.
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