January 27, 2017

Posted by Dementia Dance on January 27, 2017 in Uncategorized |No Comments

I am gifted with an Island sunrise. A benefit of getting to bed before 11PM.

Some detailed catch up:

1/25:

Mom had a chest x-ray to rule out anything ugly as her cough began causing her significant pain at her sternum. The results were negative, and it is unknown why suddenly on the 17th, a week after the accident, her cough became such a problem.

Mom was very disappointed to have leave the scheduled accordion music performance, in order to get the x-ray, and kibitzed about missing the rest of the ‘show’ for 20 minutes. Then she forgot about it.

1/26:

I arrived early at the SNF to meet mom’s doctor for rounds. It was the start of a very poor memory day for mom. Before her doc arrived to see her, she asked me for, probably, the 24th time, why she can’t stay at the house while we wait for the EEG arrangements. Her doc arrived, and she turned and asked him the same question. He looked to me to answer the question. I said, “Mom, we just talked about this. Do you remember why?” She didn’t. The doc examined mom, who stated the cough was from inactivity. Her doc said, “Well, you can fix that problem.” The SNF has a PT gym that mom can use, but doesn’t, and we go walking (just over a mile) pretty regularly. Somehow I’m meeting my step goals most days…

Aside from introducing me once or twice a day to the lady she like to take her meals with, yesterday mom had trouble tracking:
That I wasn’t sitting with her for dinner. Scooting out at dinner time leaves her with a transitional ‘activity’ as I depart.
That I can’t eat the meals the SNF serves due to gluten pollution 🙊😏. She asked if I was going to have supper at the SNF 3 times in three minutes.
What I was doing after I left.
If I’d brought the paper, and if that paper was today’s paper.
The day and date of the week. To that end, I’m asking if she’s done with the prior day’s paper, and throwing it out each day. Her room is starting to look like the house did when I got here! Even her doctor commented on the paper scatter.
Where her room was.

One of mom’s saintly neighbor’s met me at the house late yesterday afternoon to help figure out my grey water woes. Long story short, the drain field is 129% saturated, both due to the high water table on the land, and the significant rains the Island has had. After breakfast, I get to dig some pressure relief holes.

The same neighbor, while peeking at the oil stove, noted the fuel supply line was only 80% open. I have heat again, sorta. It’ll take a few days of running the stove before the house is truly comfortable.

Today, 1/27:

Before getting muddy, the recycling gets loaded in the car. Yesterday, after the doctor’s visit, I returned to the house to get a few things done, including going through the shed. My mother’s penchant for ‘very useful boxes’ is actually a hoarding problem. I found two laser printer sized boxes FULL of new USPS priority boxes, new Fedex boxes, sheets of cardboard cut to fit, and collapsed boxes that fit inside these bigger boxes. They were too heavy for me to lift. There was also an impressive stack of collapsed boxes on top of the freezer, whole empty boxes on shelves while other items sit in drifts on the floor. The picture below shows most of the cardboard. I doubt I can get all of it, and the rest of the recycle into the Subaru wagon, with its seats down. I’ll go to the dump again tomorrow.