Posted 1/3/19
Another super sad day at the memory unit. One of the absolutely sweetest ladies of the Sweet 17 left for her eternal reward today. 🙁 Such a nice person. I will miss her smile, her sweet spirit and her singing to mom’s piano. The original Sweet 17 is quickly turning into a cover band of new, but still sweet ladies. 🙁
Not a great day for mom either. Lots of anxiety. Meds helped at times, then didn’t. We have isolated (at least) a logical, somewhat correctable trigger for mom’s anxiety other than the short-circuits in her brain: loud noises. I realize loud noises happen. One of the Marys has a tendency to shout. Monitors beep loudly. Life is noisy with that many in a small ward… Today the TV was super loud (understandably so when the average watcher has the hearing quality of a lifelong hair metal rock music fan). Mom tried to sit a long way from it, but was still annoyed. She won’t go to her room, nor sit much further away. I am sure some with sensitive ears recoil at her piano playing too. You can’t please everyone in an ideal crowd…but fill the crowd with those with compromised brains and it is even harder. Problem-solving skill is non-existent in patients. Wait…check that…productive problem solving is non-existent. To them, screaming or being disturbed or mad may seem viable. Imagine something simple like needing to pee and not understanding what that need is nor how to address it. Mom’s corn is another example…Stimuli with no way to respond must be maddening. 🙁
On a somewhat lighter note (?) the missing dentures saga continues. 🙂 The found lower plate wasn’t mom’s. It was a partial and mom needs the whole shebang. Makes you wonder if someone’s mouth contains mom’s lower plate stacked on top of a few lonely, straggler teeth. Can you imagine the nurse/drill sergeant lining up the troops for a spot mouth check? Lol, but not lol.
Alzheimer’s/dementia really stinks. It takes sweet folks from their family every day. We lost 2 gems in 2 days. 🙁 In 2015 over 100k died of this train wreck and the number is growing. (I will add a link in the comments). It is extremely common…and has no cure. Join me in praying for a cure, and a quick one at that. 🙁 Support SeniorAge and other agencies on aging who help caregivers greatly. Visit a memory ward and hang out with your own Sweet 17.
#EndALZ