Last week we took my MIL for a follow-up appointment with her neurologist. He wanted to visit with her to see how she was doing on the Namenda. He asked if we had noticed any changes and we really haven't other than she seems to sleep alot. She will go to bed around 8pm and not get up until 8:30 or 9am. She has never been one to require alot of sleep so this was a noticeable change for her.
He asked about how she was doing with socializing. This is still one area that we struggle with because she just really doesn't want to get out in fear that people will know something is wrong with her.
Immediately after the appointment, we headed over to the city senior citizen center and got a complete tour. It will provide a great opportunity for her to socialize with other seniors. They will pick her up and take her home in addition to providing her a meal at lunch for a donation.
She was so excited that she continued to ask us all night what we had to do to get her on that bus to the senior center. She even wanted to go clothes shopping so she could have something to wear. After all her closet was filled with a bunch of old clothes----not completely true, she has just bought a few new things for the summer.
Anyway, I am happy to report that this is the fourth day of her going to the senior center and her third day of riding the bus home. It so reminded me the first day of taking my kids to daycare. There was a traffic jam getting in line to pick her up and when I got there she wasn't waiting out front for me. I had to go in and look for her----it didn't take long because I knew exactly where she would be---not in the exercise room but the craft room. When we got in the car, I asked her the same questions I used to ask my two daughters when I picked them up from school---what did you do today, what did you have for lunch, and did you have fun? Of course, the difference between asking a kid and asking my MIL is the kid can tell you exactly what they did but my MIL couldn't remember. As for lunch, her response was, " I can't remember but I'm sure it was good".
Everyday she has asked if she needed to call to remind them to come pick her up. We have been thrilled that she is excited about getting out and being around people again. For several years when she was in Houston, she laid in her bedroom and watched TV not understanding why her back hurt.
Wow, what a difference a change in living can make!
