Toileting

Yesterday George was not drinking which was good. He helped to get all the washing out - there was a lot - two loads.

George had a good day and some of the time he watched the History channel which he enjoys especially the documentaries about World War 2. George is lucky as he always enjoyed a good conversation and still does. He can repeat himself a lot now but he is still entertaining to listen to and he loves to talk.

Unfortunately last night he went to the toilet again and instead of getting it all the toilet bowl a lot of it landed on the toilet floor, If that was not bad enough he then walked through it and got it on the soles of his feet. Walking through the house he trampled it into the carpet all down the hallway.  This happened at 1.15 a.m. and I woke up when he came back into the bedroom, put clothes on and then started to get back into bed. I had to help him get his clothes off and pyjamas on. I then found the hall and the toilet floor so had to clean up quickly then. Looking at the carpet this morning I have not done a wonderful job as I can still see the outline in the carpet so will need to clean again today.

This is where things can get very difficult...

Soiling

Unfortunately last night George soiled himself. I am not too sure what happened but he got it all over:

• The duvet cover
• His pyjama pants
• His track pants
• A pair of trousers
• The cushion on the lounge chair
• A shirt
• A T shirt

When I asked him about it he said it was because of the weather and it was happening all over the world. Let me tell you, this sort of thing is no fun for you and very embarrassing for the person with Alzheimer's.

This sort of thing makes life difficult for the caregiver. It makes me realise that going away is not an option. I had hoped to take him away with me when I go away with work but I am not sure that this is going to be able to happen.

George is so lucid most of the time and then something like this happens and you know that he is not going to get better.

I am trying very hard to encourage him to:

• exercise
• write his memories
• not drink alcohol too much
• eat regularly
• do things to use the brain

Alzheimer's and alcohol

Unfortunately George likes to drink wine and, to a lesser extent, gin and tonic. For a person with Alzheimer's alcohol is not a great idea as he just sits and will go to sleep in the chair with the glass still in his hand.This morning George woke before me (I was woken by several earthquakes during the night) and when I went out I found George with a glass of wine!!

Today I suggested to George that he vacuum the hall. He got the vacuum out but it would not start - he did not have it plugged in. He had some difficulty plugging it in but with some help this was achieved. He then had trouble starting it as he was standing on the starting button and starting it up but leaving his foot on the button and then when he finally released it he would actually depress the button again and turn it off!! We finally got there.

A better day for George

George felt as though he was on top of things today. He showered and shaved on his own and got dressed - he was really pleased with himself. We went to get some groceries and stopped in to get some DVDs and books from the library - George does not read books although he skims through non-fiction material. He also got out some DVDs to watch.

 Each night I write on the whiteboard:

1. the day
2. the date
3. each thing that George needs to do
4. anything we are doing together (and the time if appropriate)
5. anything I am doing so he knows where I am and what I am doing

Without being prompted he consulted the whiteboard to see what he needed to do and did it - gradually he is starting to go there without my suggesting it. It just helps him to feel in control and gives him a sense of satifaction.

getting ready for bed

Last night George came in to the bedroom to come to bed. He had his pyjamas on the bed but went and got some more out of the drawer. I told him to put them away as he didn't need them and the others were already out. After me suggesting that he put them away he stood for some time confused as to what to do. I had to repeat this several times. Eventually he put them away and put on the pyjamas he had on the bed.

I have to make sure that I don't treat him as though he is stupid and I need to ensure that my voice tone reflects this - it all requires a lot of patience.

Night time toilet

Unfortunately at times George mistakes where the toilet is and goes into the bathroom, down to the end and goes in the corner by the bath. We have a carpet in there and at first I thought that we had a broken pipe until I caught him one morning. I put newspaper down in the corner and that seemed to have stopped it but he went there again last night. I am going to have to put a lock on the door so he can't get in there at night.

Following

George has started following me when I go into another room. This is a bit disconcerting as I am usually trying to do something and he is talking about something that is completely irrelevant.

He said to me, "I can remember things and people in my class from years ago as clear as a bell, is that part of what I have?" I had to explain that is his long term memory and it is good he has that but it is his short term memory that is going.

so much has happened

I am now going to start to document this blog daily so it shows a record of how a person slowly degenerates into the world of the Alzheimer's.

Since I last wrote George has slowly come to accept that he has Alzheimer's but is trying to fight it. I have a list up on a white board each day so that he knows what day of the week it is, what month, the date etc. It then shows what he needs to do for that day.

I have found that without prompts he does not regularly shower or wash (I suspect that he just stands under the shower rather than washing). I also need to check clothes needing washing. He is not able to shave properly. Two weeks ago I asked the doctor if someone could come to help him with showering and shaving a couple of times a week. The doctor was reluctant but I insisted as I can see that it is going to get worse and if George can get used to someone helping now it will not be so hard further down the track. Last week George's caregiver, Mark, came for the first time. George was not too keen on the idea but Mark was really good and let George set the pace and be as independant as possible, wonderful help. Mark comes at 9.30 on the days he comes - 3 times a week.  One morning I found George about to get into the shower at 7 rather than wait for Mark. I suggested that we have breakfast and we went to the dining room. Before you could say 'Jack Rabbit' George had gones and turned the shower on again - that happened 4 times before Mark arrived.

I went to put the dish washer on this morning and found a whole lot of cups on the bench - some clean and some dirty. I asked George about them and he said that he was took the clean ones from the dishwasher for me to put away. He didn't seem to remember getting out the clean ones from the cupboards.

We had some friends round for drinks and nibbles last night. George was telling a story when he found that he couldn't find the words he needed. He covered it up successfully but he then talked to me about it later, he obviously finds this frustrating as language is his strength.

It is so sad as I know he is trying so hard and is frightened of going into a  home - hopefully that will not happen for some time.

Official

Well it is official, George has been diagnosed with dementia from mixed vascular and Alzheimer's. I know that I have thought that is what is going on but it is official now. The Alzheimer's Society person rang and they are coming round next week.

Although he has been a 'word smith' all his life he is losing words very quickly now - this has been very sudden and certainly not something I would have expected. He looks to me to supply the right word for him. I always wonder if by doing things for him (or for mum) and I enabling them to 'opt out' and would it be better to make them do more for themselves??

Visitor

Yesterday we had a visitor and George was fine for most of the visit. Just before the person left (at about 1.30 pm) George left the room. He came back with his dressing gown on. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was 'getting ready to go to a function'. The 'function' is tonight!!