“Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be….”
-Verse 2 of “Just a Closer Walk With Thee”
I am coming back to this gem of a song, made famous by Patsy Cline among many others, because it has been a favorite of mom’s. This has been evident since she has been in memory care with the Sweet 17. While I can certainly remember her playing it over the last 40+ years, I have heard her perform it more times since she has been there than all of the years before. What a song. 🙂
Mom seems to be entering a new phase in this disease’s bullying. The only way I can explain it is it sure seems like she is forgetting how to walk. Sure, she is exhausted. Sundowning? Check. Maybe too many meds? We have changed and simplified where we can. Corn on her foot? Yup. Are those her shoes? Probably not…but maybe. She may be so mentally tired that she can’t bring herself to walk? Quite a dilemma. 🙁 She is still physically strong as far as I can tell. She still playfully arm-wrestles me when I come there most days and she still has some guns although she isn’t as strong as she used to be. But she just refuses to walk more often than not without considerable help.
My hope is that I am wrong, but another possible walking obstacle may just be that she is far enough into the late stages of her Alzheimer’s journey that her joints are starting to “freeze” (undergo contracture) although it can be argued that failing to walk causes joints to freeze up instead of the other way around. Whether she can’t remember the process or the joints are causing it to seem that way, it is proving to be a significant challenge for her. (Link).
Mom isn’t alone in the dementia-umbrella damaged brain community with these stiffening joints. Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia are very similar in many ways with traditional Alzheimer’s but with some different symptoms and causes. With traditional Alzheimer’s disease, joint freezing is just another proof that she is in the late stages.
We try to coax mom into walking in every visit as does the physical therapist, but it is getting harder and harder. It is part of a bad spiral that we are looking for ways to avoid. (Lack of exercise leading to inability to exercise).
Any thoughts in our little Alzheimer’s/Dementia/Parkinson’s community?
The good news: Mom’s spiritual “walk” with Jesus (the last decade) made great strides after becoming a believer and getting baptized later in life.
“Let it be, dear Lord, let it be….”
#EndALZ
For more Alzheimer’s Class options, check with SeniorAge or your local Area Agency on Aging. Also check with your local Alzheimer’s Association Office.