ALZHEIMER'S BLOGGING:

I had discovered that, with Alzheimer's, dad's good moments were very important. He was not himself anymore (and would never be again) because his brain had "shorted" out. Frequently, he could not remember from one minute to the next what he said,did or was doing. Sometimes he could be real sweet, like when I got him dressed in the morning and gave him his coffee. But other times he could be real mean, mostly at sun downing, telling me off, being real short with me and sometimes raising his hands to me.

Last night was an eventful night on the ambulance, and made me think of dad when he was in one of his bad times. We got a call around 300 am for a 92 yr old women who was short of breath. The nursing home had oxygen on her by a nasal cannula, which she kept taking off. Her pulse was high and her breathing was fast. She was not happy that we wanted to take vitals, hated how the blood pressure squeezed her arm, and didn't like the mask I put on her face with albuteral SVN to help her breath. She looked at me and said "If there is a God he will let you hurt like I hurt, no more, no less. And if I could I would get a gun and shoot you."

My heart went out to her. Picture yourself in her shoes. In the ambulance I was reading her paperwork which said she had a fractured hip, so it hurt her when we sheet lifted her to our gurney and to the hospital bed. Next she is on medication for her dementia/Alzheimer's, so you know she has no idea what is going on. All she knows is that two people came in the middle of the night, picked her up from her bed and took her out into the cold night. Now let me assure you that we did introduce ourselves to her, and tucked blankets around her before we went out side.

But she is confused, and all alone, with no knowledge of what is going on. I don't know her, so I don't know the nice moments she has. But since my father in law had both good and bad moments, I am taking for granted she does also. Have patience with your loved one with Alzheimer's. It is hard to put yourself in their shoes. It is also a very hard job to take care of them every day. May God Bless You.

Sincerely,
Marie Fostino
Alzheimer's A Caretakers Journal
Seaboard Press An Imprint of James A Rock Pub., Co.
www.mariefostino.com