Living with an Early-onset Dementia Diagnosis
Last Wednesday was bowling night, as it is every Wednesday, and M and I were out there once again, hitting the lanes. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but a couple of the bowlers from his team decided to take the summer off, so I’m actually bowling this “season” in addition to helping M. Continue reading “We Bowl, Dr. Pol and the Pits”
Happy 245th birthday USA!
Does it make me old if I can remember our 200th birthday, America’s Bicentennial? It doesn’t seem that long ago, either.
Summer is officially here, but M continues to wear jeans and a zip-up hoodie to his “work” (the memory-care daycare center) every day. As long as he’s comfortable, it doesn’t matter to me, but I keep thinking he must be getting hot during the day. Continue reading “Picture This!”
I think the most surprising facet of this illness (dementia) is how quickly things change. For instance, the day can be moving along with M in a good mood and all systems “go,” as it were. Then, out of nowhere, something will change, for no reason whatsoever (or so it will seem to me) and his mood will turn black (or sad or depressed . . . you name it) and I’m completely caught off guard by it. Continue reading “The Thing About a Belt”
When our Younger Son was here last, he thought it would be fun for M and me to watch all of the Avengers franchise movies, beginning with Ironman and working our way through, in order. I’m certain M has seen them all, but doesn’t necessarily remember them, so he’s enjoying it, too. Continue reading “The Avengers – and Other Marvels”
If you’ve been reading this blog for longer than five minutes, you know I’ve been trying to manage my husband’s changing mood and crying spells – hoping to find a way to make him feel better. Exercise, more sleep, nutrition – none of these have seemed to do the trick. I’m working with his physician (GP) to find a magic pill that will help, but I’m also interested to know if medical marijuana might be an answer. Continue reading “CBD – THC – and Dementia”
We had a wild and crazy weekend – not exactly the unofficial start to summer we were looking for. Saturday morning, some sort of animal got into a tussle with our dogs in our backyard. Our two didn’t fare very well, as you can see from the pictures. Continue reading “The Cone of Shame”
Can you believe it’s now been two weeks – two complete weeks – that M has been attending memory care daycare? Or his volunteer center, as we like to call it. (That’s how I get him to go – I tell him he’s going to volunteer.) I’m really pleased with everything about it: the care he’s receiving, the activities he participates in, the meals and snacks he gets every day. Continue reading “And It’s Edible!”
Here’s an interesting travel tip, as COVID fears are easing and we begin to take to flying again. As you travel from Point A to Point B, your itinerary will list the time your flight leaves from Point A and arrives at Point B. Conversely, to get you back home, the itinerary will also list for you the time your flight will leave FROM Point B and arrive back AT Point A and, ta da, you’re home. Continue reading “Fly Away Home”
Well, that’s it. M and I have done our traveling for the year. All in two weekends.
That’s kind of sad, isn’t it? But trying to travel and being away from home with a dementia patient is not for the weak-willed or faint of heart.
Over Mother’s Day weekend, we drove to Atlanta to see the Atlanta Braves play the Philadelphia Phillies (baseball.) The drive down wasn’t bad – although traffic on I-85 was ridiculous the whole way there. M was in a good mood and excited about the games. Continue reading “Travel . . . Stop”
Where does the time go? I really need more hours in the day to get everything done and still have time to sit down and write about all that has happened.
Monday was the big day – M spent a half-day at the memory care day care. I worked from home that day, so I could drive him there to arrive at 10 am, then be there to pick him up at 2 pm. Continue reading “Let’s Start That Memory Care!”