Posted 3-27-19 Yesterday was a fun time with mom. She still struggles with Alzheimer’s-generated hallucinations and/or perhaps doesn’t have the words for what she wants to say….but she was happy. Boiling all of dementia life down to a smiley face or a frowny face is simplistic, but it I guess it makes for a starting…
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Good Days: Past and Present
Posted 3-26-19 So much to write, such little time. 🙁 I have at least 10 articles in the works, but I also desperately need brain beauty sleep to wash my brain of worthless beta-amyloid plaques. Mom is doing much better again today. Peppy and genuinely pretty happy. She was a tad anxious, more than normal….but…
Interview With a Jayhawker
Posted late on 3-25-19 Nice trip down to see mom tonight. She is still tired…very tired…but happy and generally pretty darn good. She ate well in front of me with my stepdad feeding her, then we hung out for a while. She isn’t saying a lot these days, but on reflection I really feel like…
It’s Only Nine Months until Christmas. And, more importantly, three great videos of mom playing the piano this weekend…and some other thoughts in video form :)
Posted 3-25-19 9 months until Christmas…you done shopping yet? lol These were special piano sessions. 🙂 She hasn’t played in a week or so, so after long breaks with challenging times it is nice to hear her again. Piano is kind of a litmus test for how she is doing emotionally and somewhat physically (although…
Update and Sweet 17 Drama
Posted later on 3-24-19 Mom was struggling with physical exhaustion and weak legs when we have visited the last 2 days. We still had nice visits both days and even had a tad of piano time, a welcome surprise. 🙂 There was all sorts of drama among the Sweet 17 with a couple of my…
Bracing for the Winds
Posted 3-24-19 Why are we seemingly hard-wired as adventure-seekers and not emergency-preparers? Said differently, why do we wait until the storm to prepare for the storm? Do we learn from the storm when it is finished? I was thinking through this concept yet again after church today. (Note: If there is one finger pointed at…
Community
Posted 3-23-19 One of the most compelling reasons to get tested and start a baseline for dementia/Alzheimer’s is the improved outcome of those with a strong support structure compared to those without. It is not arguable that patients with an active, loving family and/or community behind them have a much better time fighting disease than…
Ditches
Posted 3-23-19a Mom had a decent day again. She is still zonked and sitting around doing absolutely nothing for far too much time each day, but the hyperactivity and uber-anxiety seems to be a thing of the past. Piano is minimal too these days too. It is a terrible choice give-and-take situation. Tomorrow we have…
Silos, Solos, and the Like
Posted 3-21-19 Just a few quick (lol!!) thoughts about silos and Alzheimer’s here in the land of digital cornbread. First a couple definitions: A silo is a tall, often reasonably skinny, cylinder-shaped structure used to store bulk materials or agriculture products. The word is derived from “Latin sirum (nominative sirus), from Greek siros “a pit to keep corn…
First Day of Spring
Posted 3-20-19 Welcome to Spring! It will be delightful to escape the blue winter and replace it with pastels and bees…ok, with pastels. We will be back today from vacation and I just wanted to make a quick point or two about “coming down from the mountain”. (Note: Cliche alert!!) In the words of Jeanne…