Looking back over the past two years, again, one is left in limbo wondering what will we be surprised within the upcoming days.
It seems as though we've progressed/regressed (depending on your view) quite a bit.
Shuffling is more pronounced, but perhaps that's from lack of lower body exercise. I was pondering over Mom's shuffling last night remembering her at home doing much the same in her slippers. It wasn't that she couldn't lift her feet - it was just the way she liked to walk in the snugness of the footwear.
Mom doesn't want to walk much anymore - such a difference! She's always hated hills, and the last time I took her to the park for a walk, she demanded we park near a flat surface with short or no hills. She was able to do the walk and did so quite well. However, since then, she's not wanted to go very far. Could it be arthritis? Could it be that she feels unbalanced enough she doesn't feel safe? this would make sense, as she would not tell anyone out of vanity.
She reads marvelously, yet she refuses to write anything. Truthfully, her thoughts cannot manage much in the way of writing; she begins with one thought and that segues into others not remotely connected, and this goes on through the note. Looking back at my birthday card which began harmlessly, I was (probably because I have a perverse sense of humor) amused by her sympathy at my loss. It went from birthday to a condolence. But her heart was in it.
One of her friends wrote me and stated that 2 years ago Mom had written her 23 times, the next year 10, and this year once, with the help of Jean.
So, what's going on?
Mom has confided in her friends that her mind isn't quite right, and she has some difficulty with thinking straight. For her this is a terrible place.
Reading through her journals around the time of her mother's death, she is full of reflection wondering how dementia could have afflicted our family. The same sort of thoughts came to light when her brother was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Knowing that Parkinson's can tend to be inherited or gene-linked, this caused her great concern as she began to fear for herself.
As LBD and Parkinson's are related by the little buggers that are Lewy Bodies, they affect different parts of the brain at different times. And, as both Mom and her cousin, Alice, are both afflicted there is the chance that one or more of us could be next - and yet we haven't the dour outlook as does she.
Aside from the motor problems and thinking there is also the balance which may come next for her.
So, what happens then? We adjust her care as it needs to be adjusted. She's in a great place where they will keep her and tend to her through thick and thin. There are some places where once they become immobile they need to find another placement. I was lucky to know to ask when checking out St. A's.
So, whatever the future brings we will face it and work with it as we best can; fortunately we've a great staff working with her who are open to new ideas and help us understand, as well.
It seems as though we've progressed/regressed (depending on your view) quite a bit.
Shuffling is more pronounced, but perhaps that's from lack of lower body exercise. I was pondering over Mom's shuffling last night remembering her at home doing much the same in her slippers. It wasn't that she couldn't lift her feet - it was just the way she liked to walk in the snugness of the footwear.
Mom doesn't want to walk much anymore - such a difference! She's always hated hills, and the last time I took her to the park for a walk, she demanded we park near a flat surface with short or no hills. She was able to do the walk and did so quite well. However, since then, she's not wanted to go very far. Could it be arthritis? Could it be that she feels unbalanced enough she doesn't feel safe? this would make sense, as she would not tell anyone out of vanity.
She reads marvelously, yet she refuses to write anything. Truthfully, her thoughts cannot manage much in the way of writing; she begins with one thought and that segues into others not remotely connected, and this goes on through the note. Looking back at my birthday card which began harmlessly, I was (probably because I have a perverse sense of humor) amused by her sympathy at my loss. It went from birthday to a condolence. But her heart was in it.
One of her friends wrote me and stated that 2 years ago Mom had written her 23 times, the next year 10, and this year once, with the help of Jean.
So, what's going on?
Mom has confided in her friends that her mind isn't quite right, and she has some difficulty with thinking straight. For her this is a terrible place.
Reading through her journals around the time of her mother's death, she is full of reflection wondering how dementia could have afflicted our family. The same sort of thoughts came to light when her brother was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Knowing that Parkinson's can tend to be inherited or gene-linked, this caused her great concern as she began to fear for herself.
As LBD and Parkinson's are related by the little buggers that are Lewy Bodies, they affect different parts of the brain at different times. And, as both Mom and her cousin, Alice, are both afflicted there is the chance that one or more of us could be next - and yet we haven't the dour outlook as does she.
Aside from the motor problems and thinking there is also the balance which may come next for her.
So, what happens then? We adjust her care as it needs to be adjusted. She's in a great place where they will keep her and tend to her through thick and thin. There are some places where once they become immobile they need to find another placement. I was lucky to know to ask when checking out St. A's.
So, whatever the future brings we will face it and work with it as we best can; fortunately we've a great staff working with her who are open to new ideas and help us understand, as well.
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