Descent into Alzheimer's Disease

My sister took Mom and me out to eat last Thursday to commemorate my passage over the hill. :-) She bought me the cutest teeny tiny cake and they sang to me. She insisted I take some money as a gift. What a nice afternoon. She even stayed with Mom a few minutes and let me run to pick up her RX!

Yesterday was my actual birthday and I left early and drove to Staunton to meet Karen. Jim baby-sat and Karen and I were free for 5 1/2 hours! We ate and shopped (our usual). We bought each other birthday presents and a few other things, too. I was stressed out part of the time because I was trying unsuccessfully to contact Chris. I was paging him, but he wasn’t returning my calls because I was entering the wrong phone number. How embarrassing! Eventually, I managed to get in touch with him and that soothed my anxious soul. It was great to be able to spend my birthday with a friend and we enjoyed the stolen minutes. She bought me a new purse that has a cell phone pocket. Now I’m cool. Everyone, eat your hearts out. Do you have a cell phone pocket? I didn’t think so.

Chris got me a hood protector for my car. So not only do I have a cool, hip purse; I have a cool car to lug it around in. Yes, I am bordering on the brink of groovy.

Josh ordered a new book for me called The Forgetting by David Shenk. It was just published this very month. I can’t wait to get into it as I’ve heard it’s really good. He also agreed to sponsor me in the upcoming Memory Walk for Alzheimer’s (of course I forced Karen to write me a check, too).

I stopped to pick up Mom on the way home from Staunton. She was lying in bed, wearing her dirty clothes from the day before. She had refused to have any part of getting a shower or clean clothes on. It weighed a bit heavy on me, but after all, it is par for the course. She was very tired, but not particularly grumpy. I gave her an Ativan and we sat down to eat. I prayed for God to please have mercy and let Mom be docile about a bath. I fixed a bucket of water for a sponge bath and Mom never uttered one word of protest. I was overjoyed! I can count the times on one hand that has happened in the last two years. This was the best birthday present of all.

I can’t stand the indignity (for both of us) of forcefully cleaning Mom. It seems like if ya live to be in your 70’s, you should get to make your own decisions. You shouldn’t have to have some young whippersnapper butting into your life telling you what to do.

War is imminent. I wouldn’t be surprised to turn on the TV to discover coverage of bombings, and troops running, and chaos all over. It’s just a matter of time now.

Psalm 9:19 - 20 Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.