Descent into Alzheimer's Disease

This is Sunday. Mom has been at Facility since Tuesday-not even a week yet. She has been happy while I was there almost every time. Unfortunately, it has been taking three aides to clean her and dress her. She has bruises all up and down her arms from where they restrain her to get the needed work done. I feel terrible about it, but I know how she is and I don’t expect them to stand and get beaten up.

I went there Friday and found her asleep in someone else’s bed (that’s normal) wearing a diaper full of loose stool. She fought wildly while an aide helped me clean her. I didn’t know why she was in such a terrible mood, but the next day found out she had watery diarrhea and she wasn’t eating. She had been there three days and was already sick. *sigh*

I stayed and helped shower her Saturday night and got her to drink some chicken soup and eat a little bit. I put her to bed and left. She had refused breakfast when I went to pick her up for church on Sunday morning, but she seemed okay, so I took her with me. She did wonderfully during church and ate all her food when we went to lunch. I brought her back home for the rest of the day and she enjoyed puttering around and snuggling in bed with me.

While we were here she took my face and said, “You’re sweet. You are so precious to me!” Then she wrapped her arms around me and said, “I love you.” She kept holding me and saying those words to me. Looking at her I realized that she was telling the truth. All the bad or mean things she has ever said were just born from anger or frustration. The TRUTH is she loves me and I am precious to her. Through tears I told her I loved her, too. She seemed lucid all afternoon.

She was still in a great mood when I took her back to Facility. I stayed and had dinner with her, leaving in time to get to the evening service at church. It was very hard to leave her. I miss her.

This being the first week, we’re still ironing out the kinks, but I feel like things may work out. I do like many of the aides who are working with her.

I’m already falling in love with the other residents, too.

One lady folds her hands and prays before she’ll put a bite of food in her mouth. Her prayer is so sweet and I know she was taught to love the Lord from the time she was a small child.

Proverbs 22:6 ¶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

One lady, who we already knew, is very ill and not expected to live much longer. While visiting with her and her husband last night, we got her laughing over several different things and he was tickled pink. It was so bittersweet. This frail, emaciated, sweet lady stretching her lips back over her teeth experiencing pleasure. Her loving husband aching with grief, knowing one day soon will be their last day together.

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Two ladies are more ‘with it’ and are fun to be around.

There is a gentleman across the hall that we knew from the adult care center who is a real sweetheart. He was a lawyer, but also wrote several poems, which he loves to recite and share.

There are more. Lots more. I have a feeling I’m going to learn to love every one of them.