Just had a ring from the hospital and the doctors have just seen George and they are discharging him today. I said if they could bring him to the front in half an hour BUT
They have to do some paperwork first which could take some time!
The nurse then said he thought I should come in and see him so he could show me how to put incontinence pads on George as he was now incontinent. I explained to him that I was way past that and that he wears full incontinence pants! As I said to him I cannot park and get George to walk to the car as there is presently nowhere close to park but you can drive to the main entrance to quickly pick them up.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Observation
At this stage George is now going to stay in hospital for another night for observation.
He is now able to stand without others holding him up which is a great improvement. They do not know what caused the turn yesterday but it looks like the symptoms have now gone. I am very aware that he has mixed dementia and part of this is vascular dementia which is is caused through mini strokes. I have never niticed him having one of these but he must have been having these for some years. They checked him out yesterday for this but saw no signs of this, fingers crossed. Those with mixed dementia often have a stroke or heart attack unlike those with solely Alzheimer's dementia.
He is now able to stand without others holding him up which is a great improvement. They do not know what caused the turn yesterday but it looks like the symptoms have now gone. I am very aware that he has mixed dementia and part of this is vascular dementia which is is caused through mini strokes. I have never niticed him having one of these but he must have been having these for some years. They checked him out yesterday for this but saw no signs of this, fingers crossed. Those with mixed dementia often have a stroke or heart attack unlike those with solely Alzheimer's dementia.
Waiting
I am still waiting for the hospital!!
I rang early this morning and they told me he would be ready to go when the doctor had seen him and someone would ring me.
An occupational therapist rang to discuss handles etc in the flat for him to use. She also told me someone would ring later in the morning. He is able to stand on his own so that is the main thing.
It is now 1 o'clock and I have been waiting all day!!
I rang early this morning and they told me he would be ready to go when the doctor had seen him and someone would ring me.
An occupational therapist rang to discuss handles etc in the flat for him to use. She also told me someone would ring later in the morning. He is able to stand on his own so that is the main thing.
It is now 1 o'clock and I have been waiting all day!!
Hospital
Yesterday George went out for a coffee with a person from Healthcare. While he was in the car on the way home he suddenly told her that he was not well and clutched on to the seat. The two of us got him out of the car and to the doorway of the flat when he just wouldn't go any further. I raced and got a chair and brought it to the doorway and we finally got him into the chair. He was white as a ghost and his skin was very clammy. I felt his pulse and it was racing. I rang an ambulance and they came out. They took him into the hospital and I followed in a car. I did not go in the ambulance as there is no one here to help me and I have to be able to get home. It is also very difficult to get a park near the hospital. I got in there and they found that George has an irregular heart beat but they were not really sure just what was going on. A nurse and I both explained to the doctor that if George took another turn during the night or tried to get out of bed then I would not be able to cope on my own as he is pretty big compared to me and I would need someone else to help me, these are certainly times when it is so hard managing on your own. George was not able to stand on his own even holding on to something, he needed people to hold him up.
It was the same the morning I found that Mum had lain on the floor to relieve the pain in her back and she couldn't get up, nor could I get her up. I got George to come and help me and the two of us were not able to manage it. Finally we got someone else to help and it took all three of us to get her up. By that time her blood pressure was through the roof. In that case we also had to ring an ambulance.
The hospital plans to release George home this morning after a doctor has checked him out.
It was the same the morning I found that Mum had lain on the floor to relieve the pain in her back and she couldn't get up, nor could I get her up. I got George to come and help me and the two of us were not able to manage it. Finally we got someone else to help and it took all three of us to get her up. By that time her blood pressure was through the roof. In that case we also had to ring an ambulance.
The hospital plans to release George home this morning after a doctor has checked him out.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Night time antics
I must have been very tired last night!
When I woke up this morning I went out to the lounge where I found an absolute mess. Good old George had been up in the night and brought a pile of stuff out into the lounge and piled it up all around the place. He was now back in bed sound asleep. I must admit I looked at the chaos and wondered how the hell he had done it. He had left three walking sticks under these piles. He uses a walking stick getting around and is always VERY slow. I have no idea how long it took him!
When he woke up I got him to help me put everything away. While this takes a lot longer at least it keeps him occupied for a while.
When I woke up this morning I went out to the lounge where I found an absolute mess. Good old George had been up in the night and brought a pile of stuff out into the lounge and piled it up all around the place. He was now back in bed sound asleep. I must admit I looked at the chaos and wondered how the hell he had done it. He had left three walking sticks under these piles. He uses a walking stick getting around and is always VERY slow. I have no idea how long it took him!
When he woke up I got him to help me put everything away. While this takes a lot longer at least it keeps him occupied for a while.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Helping to retain that memory
After our horrific start to the day (see below) I managed to get George back on track! This did take some time but worth it. I made sure that he had his breakfast and also gave him some jelly beans to help the blood/sugar levels. I then got him out the big book I had made him and we went through it. The first time he did not recognise many people and had to read to find the names even with the picture of him with Audrey Hepburn, something he loves to remember. The second time he was a bit better and the third time he really got into the swing. He would turn a page and say, I remember this and then proceed to tell me about that day when the photo was taken. It was interesting too that he certainly remembered those he had spent time with recently, for example his son and grandson who had both visited from Sydney. I think this would be because they both spent a lot of time with him while they were here. Another old friend rings him several times a month and this seems to be important to George. They talk about old times and people they both knew as well as rugby games. For family it is important for them to spend as much time as they can with a person with Alzheimer's and keep talking about the past as then they have a greater chance of having those special moments with that person as the disease progresses.
For those separated by being in different places a great way to overcome this is via Skype - just make the time.
For those separated by being in different places a great way to overcome this is via Skype - just make the time.
Next step?
After a fairly confused day yesterday George is really confused today!
When he got up this morning he was nearly crying as he came down to the lounge. Yesterday I took him to get his hair cut. This morning he kept saying "I have been to them for years". He was talking about the hairdressers he went to in town. I told him not to worry as it had gone because of the earthquake. He asked me who I was. I asked him who he thought I was. He said he thought I was his wife. I told him that was right and did he know my name. He said Diane. With a lot of moaning I got him dressed and gave him some breakfast. He then started talking and asked about family. I asked if he had any children but he didn't think so and thought they had gone in the earthquake. I explained they weren't here. I said there were two in Sydney but he couldn't remember their name's. I told him that they are Mark and Scott and he said he remembered Mark, this may be because he saw him earlier this year. I then told him he had another son in Auckland called Justin. He said "he's a bad bugger". I asked why and he said that he told lots of lies! He asked if he had any daughters but I told him he didn't. I gave him his big book to look through which he found interesting although he did not recognise many of the people in the book.
It is going to be interesting to see if he remains like this or if he improves of if he stays like this. I am off to Mum this morning and was going to leave him home but don't think that is a good idea.
When he got up this morning he was nearly crying as he came down to the lounge. Yesterday I took him to get his hair cut. This morning he kept saying "I have been to them for years". He was talking about the hairdressers he went to in town. I told him not to worry as it had gone because of the earthquake. He asked me who I was. I asked him who he thought I was. He said he thought I was his wife. I told him that was right and did he know my name. He said Diane. With a lot of moaning I got him dressed and gave him some breakfast. He then started talking and asked about family. I asked if he had any children but he didn't think so and thought they had gone in the earthquake. I explained they weren't here. I said there were two in Sydney but he couldn't remember their name's. I told him that they are Mark and Scott and he said he remembered Mark, this may be because he saw him earlier this year. I then told him he had another son in Auckland called Justin. He said "he's a bad bugger". I asked why and he said that he told lots of lies! He asked if he had any daughters but I told him he didn't. I gave him his big book to look through which he found interesting although he did not recognise many of the people in the book.
It is going to be interesting to see if he remains like this or if he improves of if he stays like this. I am off to Mum this morning and was going to leave him home but don't think that is a good idea.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Rubbish
I put a huge lot of adult diapers in the rubbish each day and I must admit I often think about the environment. We often hear about the number of nappies from babies ending up in the landfills but the adult ones being used must also be huge and will be growing.
I don't know the answer to this problem and let me tell you I am not using washable ones ( if there are such a thing ).
I don't know the answer to this problem and let me tell you I am not using washable ones ( if there are such a thing ).
Bottom lip day
Thank God another dry night however -
The bottom lip is slack today! Won't go into the detail that the poor caregiver had to put up with but very pleased that it wasn't me dealing with it!
I took George with me to Mum's home today as our friend is in hospital and I will be going again tomorrow. When George is like this he fits right in! Took him to the barber on the home.
On returning home George needed to go to the toilet which he did but I had to clean him up and change him. On days with the slack bottom lip he gets more and more confused. Someone told me I would know how to deal with George's incontinence as I had had a child to deal with! Let me tell you that dealing with a child is nothing like dealing with an adult - use your own imagination on this front. Enough to say it is not pleasant. Plastic gloves and make sure you have good cleaners.
I find on days like this there is no point in trying to do much, just go with the flow and I also ensure that he has plenty to eat, jelly beans are good at getting the sugar level up which often helps.
The bottom lip is slack today! Won't go into the detail that the poor caregiver had to put up with but very pleased that it wasn't me dealing with it!
I took George with me to Mum's home today as our friend is in hospital and I will be going again tomorrow. When George is like this he fits right in! Took him to the barber on the home.
On returning home George needed to go to the toilet which he did but I had to clean him up and change him. On days with the slack bottom lip he gets more and more confused. Someone told me I would know how to deal with George's incontinence as I had had a child to deal with! Let me tell you that dealing with a child is nothing like dealing with an adult - use your own imagination on this front. Enough to say it is not pleasant. Plastic gloves and make sure you have good cleaners.
I find on days like this there is no point in trying to do much, just go with the flow and I also ensure that he has plenty to eat, jelly beans are good at getting the sugar level up which often helps.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
What a strange disease
Fantastic, another dry night!
George has been pretty good for the last few days. He has known what is going on and has been following instructions! One of the caregivers commented on it yesterday. We all try to make him do things for himself, for example putting clothes on and off. We have to tell him what to do and he then tries to do it. It is so important to keep them as independent as possible.
The problem is that you never know what each new day may bring.
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