Living with an Early-onset Dementia Diagnosis
I hope you’re sitting down . . . after 51 days in the emergency department at a local hospital, we have finally gotten M moved into a skilled nursing care community.
Just let that sink in for a moment. He’s out of the hospital. Continue reading “Persistence – the word for 2022”
How to you update a situation in which there is no update?
Here we are, 37 days since M went into the emergency department at our local hospital and he is still there . . . sitting in the emergency department at our local hospital. And that was after 32 days in ANOTHER hospital ER. I wish I had a dollar for every memory care, assisted living and/or skilled nursing facility I’ve called to ask if they had availability to take him. Continue reading “The Non-Update Update”
Hope you’re sitting down – this will come as a SHOCKER to you. M is STILL in the ER at the hospital. STILL not getting the treatment he needs.
Before Thanksgiving, I asked on my Facebook page if there was ANYONE who might have a connection or idea of how I could get him the help he needed. People were very kind and offered sympathy and prayers. Continue reading “Who HAVEN’T I Talked To?”
Groundhog Day, a merry-go-round . . . it all fits. And it all continues.
M is still sitting in the emergency room at the local hospital, sedated, and I’m getting more and more pressure every day to bring him home. And there is NO WAY – he CANNOT come home. Continue reading “Second Verse, Same as the First”
Where to begin with what has transpired in the last few days/weeks?
M remained in the behavioral health unit at the hospital, no availability in the memory care facilities that were willing to accept a 59-y/o dementia patient (although they DID accept my $1000 deposit EACH to put him on their waiting list) and M’s medications remained sedation and anti-psychotic drugs. For a dementia patient. Continue reading “If I Had a Million Dollars”
And the frustration continues . . .
You know, if this were a movie, no one would believe this plotline. It’s really too far fetched to be real.
As of this writing, M has been in the behavioral health unit of the emergency department of a local hospital for 22 days. He was discharged by the psychiatrist (“discharged from a psychiatric perspective” is the phrase I keep being told) 13 days ago. But the behavior that caused him to be placed in the behavioral health unit hasn’t changed. Continue reading “This Squeaky Wheel is Rolling”
It should be so simple. I had it all planned out. I was going to visit several long-term care properties in the area, decide which ones I liked, sit down with my children (including my daughter-in-law, because I value her opinion) and we would make a decision. What I neglected to factor in was the human element. I didn’t take into account how making this decision would throw my children for a loop and, in turn, throw a monkey wrench into all my plans. Continue reading “It Should Be SO Simple”
And the saga continues . . .
When we last visited M, he was in the ER of a local hospital, not an inpatient, but being attended to by the psychiatric staff to stabilize his anxiety and moods to move him to a long-term care placement. Continue reading “Advocate. You Must. At ALL Times.”
This has been the longest week EVER! And M has remained in the behavioral health unit since Monday evening. Even though I know he’s safe and receiving the care he needs, I still can’t seem to relax and get a decent night’s sleep. Continue reading “And the Dance Continues”
What is it about carefully designed and crafted plans that makes God say, “Oh yeah? Watch this!” And send your plans spinning on their heads?
Today SHOULD be the day we move M into the long-term care facility I spent days/weeks deciding on. Instead, today is the first day M is spending in the behavioral health unit of a local hospital to be assessed and stabilized. Continue reading “Go Ahead – Make a Plan”