Time Flies when....

I cannot believe how fast time goes.  Much has transpired since my last post. Mom is doing SOOOOO well..  I don't know what the reason for the turnaround is but I'm enjoying the ride. 

All my sibs have come to visit from distant places and with every visit, her spirits seem to have been lifted to a new level.  My brother Rick came with his wife and we had a great time with lots of laughter and memories. One morning two of my brothers came and whisked mom off for a drive.  Ready or not, they were taking her. She had not been doing all that well before this little adventure away, so I was a little nervous, but she did great! They said she was laughing all the way home.

I love to see and hear her laugh.  Sometimes she laughs so hard she has to rush to the bathroom...which makes us laugh harder.  Thank goodness for the 'Depends'.  Many mornings I go into her room and she is full of giggles. It's a good sign we are going to have a good day. 

Even with mostly 'up' days, there seems to be a time every afternoon that she goes to a dark place.  She gets a certain look on her face and her mind will conjure up some type of delusion. Recently she started saying that my dad was still alive.  Only she sees him but he is alive.  I just told her, "Yes, he is so close to your heart it's like he is real".  She grabbed my arm sternly and said "He is alive."  Somehow I manage to wiggle into some kind of distraction.  But she is very stubborn sometimes.  Yesterday it was, "They took all my money,  you know".  I just cringe inside because I can't outright deny what she is saying but I cannot let her think these things are real.  Finally after several minutes I just said, "Mom, I don't want to talk about that anymore, there is nothing we can do about it today".  "Oh, okay" She shakes her head agreeing, than a few minutes later she starts that same train of thought.  I usually give her an 'Ativan' when she gets that 'look'.  It seems to help relieve the anxiety and it subsides.  I haven't figured out what triggers it. Sometimes she turns on a dime. It's just part of the disease. 

Another challenge we went through was her toes.  Everytime we went to put shoes on she complained of pain.  Was it the lack of circulation, her toe nails, or what?  It reminded me so much when my youngest daughter would have a fetish with the sock seams on the toe.  It would be an everyday struggle getting her ready for school.  Same thing, trying to get mom ready to go anywhere was a very big deal. A couple of weeks ago, I was on a search for the perfect shoe. Something that was open toe, with velcro over the top. I took her to the specialty shoe stores and every response was "No, no, it doesn't feel good".

We have finally figured out a perfect combination with one pair of shoes.  Only knee highs, white tennies, one insole on the right shoe, no insole on the left.  It was so difficult at one point it actually was difficult to leave the house. So this past week has been especially fun getting out and doing things together again.  I really enjoy our outings although her stamina has lessened quite a bit.
 
We had another issue we had to deal with in the last few weeks.  One night mom showed up in our room again in the middle of the night.  "Hi" she woke me up.  "Oh hi mom, we need to get you back in bed."  "Can I stay here with you?"  "No, better not."  I walked her back to her room and saw where she had moved the sofa table that we use to block the hallway.  So I got her back in bed and blocked the table with a bar stool.
I feel back asleep and Michael wakes me, "I heard a noise, I think your mom is up".  I go out the living room and she was standing by the double French doors trying to unlock the locks.  Back to bed she goes.  Now I really couldn't sleep.  Once again she was up and this time she had crawled under the table.  She was determined.  By this time I was fully awake and decided to sleep on the couch so I would hear her immediately.  It was a tough night.  Luckily it was the exception.  It hasn't happened since and we have a good system on two bar stools shimmied under the table with two silk plants on the top.  Sounds ridiculous doesn't it?  Hey, it took me days to get a sound night's sleep again after that disturbing night of ups and downs.
 
I have found that if I get a good nights sleep, get my morning walk in, makeup on and have breakfast before mom gets up...I can handle even the toughest day.  As long and the tough days are not stringed together in a row.  It is very reminiscent of having a toddler in the house again. 
 
Michael and I got to have a get-away for a long weekend and it was a welcomed break.  I'm so thankful for my two ladies that help in time of need.  Ruth, a long time friend of my mother's also helped by coming one morning while we were away.  Thanks Ruth.  And of course, my wonderful sister was with her all day that Sunday.  As some people say:  "It takes a villiage".  Oh is that true in our situation.

Update:  Mom actually climbed over a sofa table and two barstools and showed up in our bedroom at 6:00 a.m.  We could not believe it.  This is very shocking, amazing and dangerous. So today it was my mission to find a solution to keep her safe in her designated hallway. After a few stores I decided on a lightweight chainlink 48"X48" gate.  It was a better option than heavy raw plywood.  I'll let you know how it works.