Postcards from the Past

Yesterday, my MIL got mail from an old high school friend.  She stood in the kitchen and read it.  It was like watching a school girl get a love note from her boyfriend.  It was from a high school sweetheart who sent her a picture of them at prom.  I'll have to admit it was kind of random since this person is married and not someone she talks to on a regular basis even before she got Alzheimer's.  (that is that we know of....!)  Anyway, she went in and out of the kitchen carrying that card/picture saying she just couldn't believe he sent that saying....."oh, I should have married him"....."he was very handsome"......"I'm not calling him (he gave her two numbers for her to contact him)"......"he's married"......"he was such a nice boy from such a nice family".....and it went on and on like this for quite sometime that evening.  She held onto that note like it was her most treasured possession!

It dawned on me that she would get more enjoyment from this piece of mail than out of all the contact she has had with family & friends in the last 4 or 5 years.  Because she could look at the picture and remember that happy time and place from her past!

Life is Good!

The Wheels on the Bus

Independence has been a big issue with my MIL since she came to live with us.  The doctor told her she could not drive several years ago and then she was told she could not live alone.  Being a woman who was used to coming and going as she pleased when she pleased hasn't always sat well with her now that she has been "immobilized".

Post Options

The opportunity to "ride the bus" to the Senior Citizen Center every day has allowed her to feel as if she is in control of her coming and going!  This week while I was off for Spring Break I had another look at the bus ride.  Now, mind you they used to pull up out front and honk and she would come a runnin'.  But now she sits in the kitchen watching for them out the window, they pull up in the driveway, and she runs out.  Everybody on the bus greets her (I can only imagine what they are saying!) and they roll off!

Life is good!

Going Green

Just the other day we got our electric bill and were so excited to see that it had gone way down in price and overall usage!  Now that our girls are not at home I am amazed at how much water and electricity they were using!  Reliant Energy just installed the smart meters in our neighborhood so we are getting into "reading the meter" and studying the "KWH usage".

Now, I have not always been a "go green kind of gal" but my husband and I are starting to get on that band wagon.  I call it getting old more than I call it going green.  I remember being somewhat offended when my paternal grandmother, God love her, would recycle things like tin foil and the vegetable bags you got at the grocery store.  My maternal grandmother, who is 94 years of young, had a drawer designated to saving plastic butter dishes, twist ties, plastic bread bags, paper bags, and jars!  Oh, my gosh, she saved jars! I remember thinking, I don't think you have to save all of those----because how could you ever use them all!  Instead she would fill them with leftovers after our Sunday dinners at her house and send them with us to take home.

My MIL, however, was definitely not from the generation of recycle.  I don't know if she was ever frugal, thrifty, or saved anything! When she lived by herself she had a TV in every room, left lights on in every room, and kept the A/C on about 60.  When you stayed with her you froze!

Okay, so let me return for a minute back to our Reliant electric bill.  As we were analyzing usage and trying to figure out how to set the smart meter, my husband looked at the daily usage.  Guess when our peak usage was?  It was from 1pm (my MIL gets home at 1 from the Senior Center) to 5pm (we get off work at 5).  Not from 5-10pm when we are home but when my MIL is home alone!  Cracked me up!  How can one little 74 year old use the bulk of electricity in four hours a day?  She just has one lamp, a closet light, a room light, a TV she doesn't watch, our TV downstairs, and several lights in between........!

Maybe we need to teach her about "going green"!  It is what it is...... but Life is good.....over the hill!

Sunrise or Sunset

You know I have always been told that Alzheimer's patients have difficulty with short term memory but not their long term memory.  We have seen that in my MIL----she can recall details from her past to some degree but can not remember what she ate 20 minutes ago.

Yesterday my husband turned 50!  A landmark birthday!  My MIL did not remember that it was his birthday.  I noticed that she had it written on the calendar we gave her to keep in her room.  But yesterday came and went and she did not acknowledge her son's special day.  We understand and don't say anything to make her feel bad but it's still hard to know that your parent can't remember the day they brought you into the world. 

A calender is filled with twelve months that have thirty or thirty one days in each month but to an Alzheimer's patient there are no months or days just sunrises and sunsets. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease.

But, it is what it is.......life is good!

365 Days

It was a year ago today that my MIL moved into our home.  She had been living at Royal Estates, an independent living center up until that time.  Here are some highlights from her year:

1. Received her official diagnosis of Alzheimer's in May 2010.
2. Began taking Namenda in May 2010, works to delay the advancement of Alzheimer's symptoms by preventing abnormalities in glutamate, a chemical found in the brain that has been associated with a variety of physiological functions including memory and learning.
3. Diet has significantly improved- had to visit the doctor once in 8 months for sinus infection.
4. Improved Socialization- began interacting with other seniors at the Senior Citizen Center daily.
5. Marked improvement in her personality and overall outlook on life.  Does not seem as anxious about being around other people like before.
6. Attended her granddaughter's track meets, state track meet, university graduation, high school graduation, and a wedding all in one year!  She never missed a beat even if she didn't remember it later.
7. Attending church.  This is a big one for me.  She had stopped attending church for many of the same reasons she quit interacting with people.  We invite her to go with us and sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't.  But some is better than none!

As I look back on her year, it is amazing what a difference 365 days can make.  She is a different person than the person we moved to Abilene three years ago.  She is healthy, positive, seems to be enjoying her life, and has re-engaged with her family and other people. 

Life is good.......over the hill!