Unselfish Care

Big New Bed Delivery and Nighttime Bliss

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The big new bed was delivered yesterday. I thought that I had paid for the removal of the old mattress, box springs and the bed frame. Apparently there are tiny variations in the language of such agreements that I did not realize and was not privy to. When did furniture or any purchase like that become so complicated. Even though I asked the salesman – Can you guys remove the old bed? – what he checked off and I did not question was – “Removal mattress and box springs – $99.00.” I forgot to ask about something that I knew nothing about. I should have asked, “And the old bed frame, headboard and footboard too?” He would have responded with, “That’s an extra $50” to which I would have said okay. Once I am making the switch lets go for it. It served us well for fifty or so years. It is merely a bed. It has no particular sentimental value. I remember when we bought the whole bedroom set thinking to myself, that is a lot of money ($1600 in 1979). Beyond any of those thoughts it has served us well. It is time for it to go. It does not fit our Parkinson life.

The mattress and box springs left yesterday. The headboard, footboard and frame assembly went into the garage. There is a lot of useless crap in the garage, like, I suppose, everyone’s garage. On another day I will rid myself of useless crap so there is more space in the garage. I will probably not paint anything in the condo on my own so why am I keeping old paint brushes? I also have an electric hedge trimmer. We live in a condo complex that although it is small we pay to have mowed and landscaped and trimmed. Useless crap it is.

Alas, we were probably the last delivery of the day. The young men were on the way out when I asked lets see how you left it. I asked them to move the bed about a foot closer to the doorway of the bedroom so that it was basically in the same place as the old bed. they did as asked. The delivery included a sheet set and I had purchased a set of mattress covers from Amazon as well as a quilt and shame set and blanket. The install team left me with a queen size mattress protector which I was not expecting but again, had I realized it was coming, I could have checked that the correct thing was delivered. I did not check that fact. The queen size mattress protector still sets on the dining room table awaiting the delivery truck to bring to correct item (which is probably not on anyone’s delivery list for today.) I am waiting to see how this all works out.

I am not perfect either! I ordered the correct size blanket from Amazon but I incorrectly ordered a queen size quilt. Woe is me. Amazon now uses Wholefoods Market for returns. There is one about two miles from me. It was a painless activity. Perhaps I will return to shop there. It is an alternative to Kroger which was there when the building was first put up and then got mired in some developer default controversy about ten years ago. Kroger moved out. The building was eventually completed. I do not know if the crane operator was ever paid. The crane stood idle along the highway for about a year while everyone traded paper and shouted at each other in court. Now it is where I return my oopsios to Amazon and there is a store that sells stuff to store stuff in. America has a lot of stuff. (Sorry I digressed.)

The first night was wonderful. Cheryl did awaken me to help her in the middle of the night but that was after she had gotten up to go to the toilet. I did not feel her get up.

After I got her up at 7 am for her first meds, she fell asleep deeply until I awakened her at 8:45 am. Bliss.

Carpe new bed Diem.

Lists, Wishes and Trips

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Today sitting in Anna’s house chatting, Anna told her mom that today was June the fifth. Did Mom know whose birthday was today. I thought, shit, I forgot to write that detail on the white eraser page that I put on the kitchen table in the morning. And I had lost that fact also. I have been so focused on Cheryl and getting some activity for her each day I lost track of my own son’s birthday.

Cheryl always wants to make a list so she does not forget something. How does one even begin to write a list of things or events not to be forgotten when one cannot remember what is to be on the list?

That is a tricky question. It is hard to remember what you have forgotten or maybe did not know at all.

Another subject for a list is the places and people we need to visit . Maybe we have not seen them in person for awhile. there are many people that we have not seen in person for at least two years. I did travel to see my sister about a year ago. We attended my nephew’s wedding in California. It was hot. It was fun. My brother-in-law, my nephew’s father, had brought along his fiance to the celebration and for some arbitrary reason she blew up and their wedding is not happening. Cheryl is working on a list for visiting folks. My nephew and his new wife are expecting a baby very soon.

Should she ever get her list together I will make every effort to figure it out. Planning trips is hard. Cheryl needs a lot of extra equipment these days. The new U-Step walker, although it folds, is better transported by a pick up truck. She is much more steady behind it.

Carpe Diem.

Past Few Days

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The past few days have been sleepless and disturbing. Cheryl has one of her meds that she has been taking for a long time seems to be bothering her at night and not allowing her to sleep. As we sleep in the same bed on the same mattress I do not get much rest either.

Two nights ago I gave into the thought that it was her Sinemet CR tabs that were both helpful overnight and disturbing her sleep. I discussed it with her and she wanted to try taking only one tab for overnight. She slept until about one o’clock and got up to go to the toilet. She came back to bed and slept until the seven o’clock alarm for morning meds.

Wow! Could it be that easy?

Last night we did the same thing. She did not get up at all. I had a little extra laundry to do in the morning but I did it with a full night of rest.

Now it is the weekend which should be a time to relax and rest but we have little to do on the weekend calendar. I lean on my kids. Cheryl has been talking about the kids all week. If I can I take her to visit.

My first thought is my son David. He has a wonderful backyard to sit and visit. My plan was to visit on Sunday but as we drove to our favorite place for a walk Cheryl said she would like to visit David. I had told her as we were driving along about visiting David tomorrow afternoon. Somehow that translated into today in the afternoon. I called David and he said sure.

We took our walk and sat on David’s back patio the rest of the afternoon.

Maybe tomorrow afternoon we can find Max’s ballgame and visit Anna’s family.

Carpe Diem.

Paul

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Cheryl – Paul?

Me – Yes?

Cheryl – When you see my husband Paul if that’s tonight or tomorrow…

Me – I will see him tonight.

Cheryl – Tell him, I love him.

This was one of those conversations in which I am not me. They used to disturb me. Now I just go along.

This was our conversation as I helped her into bed. It was a little early. She complained of being very tired and went to lay down at 8:30 pm. I took her the bedtime dose at 9 pm. She was not asleep yet. I had previously promised her that if she was asleep already I would not wake her up. We would just figure it out later.

Carpe Diem.

Weighing Future Options

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Cheryl’s Parkinson’s disease interlaced with dementia has taken a turn to the negative over the past three months. It is tough but necessary for us to explore extra help and other options to our living situation.

I feel a sense of sadness. It is not exactly that I have failed because I recognize in my heart that her disease has a progression. I suppose it is a progression that I had not anticipated.

I also feel a sense of relief, an acceptance of the fact that I cannot do it all alone anymore. I recognize that we have to do something different. That first recognition came when I decided to buy a new bed and change our sleeping arrangements. At least, I thought a split king would keep us from awakening each other at night.

We drifted off to bed about 10 PM after watching a couple of her favorite shows on television and visiting with her sister for a couple hours. We probably eventually fell asleep about 10:30. Overnight I got up to go to the toilet twice and the second time around 3 AM she got up with me and seemed as though she wanted to stay up. I had prepared to sleep on the sofa bed we had and then she came out looking for me. We had our often discussion about church and I suggested we lay down for two more hours and then get up. She got up at quarter til noon.

I got up around 8:30. It was bliss.

I took the time to call the assisted living facility nearby that had housed both of our mothers at the end of their life. I still refuse to believe that we are here yet BUT it does not hurt to find out about various options to move forward from here.

I also set up a couple doctor appointments. She is having problems hearing occasionally. And I wonder about a UTI.

Carpe Diem.

More steps on the journey

Unsolicited Advice

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Oftentimes my immediate reaction to unsolicited advice is to ignore it because I assume that the advisor has their heart in the right place. Pushy people can insist that I’m doing it wrong but it is possible to listen past this and hunt for the useful nuggets of information.

Today Jane apologized for jumping up to find Cheryl a different cup to put her soft drink into at the pizza store last Tuesday. It was both unsolicited and surprising. I ignored it and when she came back with a coffee mug I poured part of Cheryl’s drink into it. It was a good solution and Jane’s apology and later her admonishment when I said that it was unnecessary reminded me that I am not the only solver of problems. Jane’s background is special education with kids that have special needs and although Cheryl is not on of those, some of the same rules apply.

For quite some time now I have been merely moving Cheryl’s giant plastic glass of soft drink away from any gyrations that occur with her hands as she engages in conversation. It never occurred to me to merely request a smaller additional glass to put her coke in. Something that was easier to deal with. AHA (dammit I missed that one.)

Carpe Diem.

NO

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In a past episode of “Ghosts” the young woman protagonist uses the term “maybe” instead of a direct “no.” Cheryl says, “I’ll think about it.” Reading the care giver’s guide to the galaxy book which is a part of the class I am attending to learn some things the communications chapter discusses saying “no.” It talks about the implications of negativity which go along with saying no. I have noticed that most times people cannot say no with out offering some explanation to lessen the blow of the no.

It is much harder with a dementia patient. The no may be a greater blow than one can imagine. But sometimes it is very important to the care partner to express “NO” and then explain the the care receiver why no is important this time and then discuss alternatives that may sound like “we’ll see.”

We will see and keep working on it.

Carpe Diem.

Observations of Lack of Sleep

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Scott was here last night to be with Cheryl while I visited my stock club meeting. The fourth Monday of every month is the meeting of our little stock club. We started this little club in 1984. Over time we swelled to 20 members but the past few years attrition and death has shrunk our number to eight. And over the past few years the meetings are more social than business. Where else can eight old men get together and trade war stories about getting old, fortunes missed, grand children achievements, the proper temperature of beer for drinking, Parkinson’s disease, prostate problems, cataracts and hearing issues, but in the backroom of a local watering hole near a railroad track? It is always fun and over the years I have rarely missed it.

Before I left for the meeting Cheryl’s stomach was bugging her a bit as happens occasionally after her 4 pm meds. When I returned I asked her if she had eaten anything. She said yes but behind her Scott shook his head no. She answered my question how she thought I wanted her to answer it.

Eventually about 11:20 pm we went to bed. Over night she was fidgety and got up at 2:30 a.m. to make a list so she would not forget something. I sat her at the kitchen table with subdued lighting and with paper and pencil she worked on her list.

Her list is a business memory. I sat with her and about 3 a.m. she decided to sleep some more and finish later on. Buzzing around in her mind these days is the thought of creating a database of birthdays for the people in her family. Many times and in many instances she has started this task. Just like engineers this thinking starts with a pad and paper. Often sketches are made to indicate data flow and information input. Just like an engineer Cheryl’s notes switch back and forth from cursive to printing. And although she had an urgency about this activity in the very early morning hours, she had no ideas about what it was or what it was for in the daylight hours.

She seems so fragile to me in the morning lately. She is still working on the remnants of some dream as she awakens. This morning she got up and went into the bathroom. I got up also and put clothes on, got some coffee for myself and turned on the CBS news to see if any new wars developed or any movie stars got divorced overnight. About 20 minutes later I went back to check and see if any help was needed or if there were any special breakfast requests. She was seated on the closed toilet waiting for someone to bring more toilet paper. I showed her where the extra rolls were and asked if she wanted cereal for breakfast. Yes was her reply. I returned to the living area.

About ten minutes later I went to check again and she told me she was still waiting for someone to bring toilet paper. The thirty minutes of database design time in the middle of the night messed up her waking pattern.

More and more she seems to have a slow switch from early morning confusion to present. I have not found a solution to any of this confusion and delusion. I listen to her conversation and make a lot of rapid decisions about how to respond. If it seems like she is getting ramped up about someone coming (that I know is not) I try to gently steer her toward the correct thinking. If she is getting fired up about having a family gathering I merely agree with her plans.

On this particular morning she was concerned about whether David was going to show up any minute to cook the Thanksgiving turkey. It took several repeated conversations about date and time but eventually she seemed okay that Thanksgiving day was not today. Over several hours she came to the conclusion that she should take a shower and get ready for her exercise class. Over those same several hours I planted various seeds of the idea about taking a shower and looking for exercise clothes to wear.

Me and how I feel – It is wearying for the care partner to both console and encourage and direct and deflect her delusions and my own background anger (too strong a word – disappointment?; discouragement?; vexation?) with her brain and how it is operating with PD. My question – Why can’t she have the movement issues without the mental disability? (God are you listening? Why her? She has always been a sweet person. Why did you dump this crap on her?)

Observations about my reaction to her needs – (Shit! Not again. This is the same conversation we had 15 minutes ago. whiskey tango foxtrot.) How can I help dear? Cheryl – you can’t help. Perhaps not but let me hold your purse for you while you get out of the car.

Is this genuine love? … To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse… Those where part of the original agreement. Too late to back out now. She looks so sad and distraught when she realizes that she needs me to help her up from the chair because her scoocher is busted. It is heartbreaking.

Carpe Diem.

For the First Time Early this Morning

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Cheryl went to lunch again with a friend yesterday. Barb had arranged a luncheon with another member of the church decorating committee. (See my previous post)

They were gone for a long time about five hours. When Cheryl got home we talked for a bit and she went to lay down. I think she actually fell asleep for about thirty minutes. Or, at least, she was very still for a while when I went to check on her about an hour later.

In the evening she declared herself tired a about 10 PM and she went to bed. After a few preliminaries she was laying down at about 10:20. I remained up to read as I usually do before retiring. When I came to bed about thirty minutes later she was still when I laid down.

At 1:30 AM or so she was restless and awake. To the bathroom she went. I helped her a little with the toilet because she has confusion and balance issues in the middle of the night. She lamented that she really needed to sleep but she was fidgety and agitated. Nothing I could do seemed to help. I began to think that my presence was disturbing her. She couldn’t get comfortable.

She stayed in our bed. I got up and opened our sofa bed in the living area. I had never slept on it before. It was a new purchase we made with the mad money that we got from the federales during the height of the pandemonium. After a couple false starts and finding a blanket and my pillow from our bed. I fell asleep from 2:30 until about 5:32 AM when my bladder reported fullness to my brain. That is a much longer span than laying with Cheryl fidgeting her way back to sleep. The sofa sleeper itself while not perfect was quite comfortable to sleep on.

I will have to study the living room area floor plan and think about things some more. I had to rearrange furniture in the early morning hours to open the sofa sleeper. That was a little inconvenient in the dark.

Perhaps we are at the stage of her disease and our lives when we will need different sleeping arrangements.

Alas and Carpe Diem