There are 5.4 million people who have Alzheimer's. It cost 183 billion dollars in annual costs. Alz's is the 6th leading cause of death.
To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US
1 John 4: 9-10

Mom and Dad Happy Times.

Monday, December 7, 2009

I Am Gum

Mom said she was sad yesterday and I ask why. She sad because I am gum. I am sure she meant something else. Maybe I am sad and lonely or sad and scared.Or maybe she was sad because she did not know were she was. But it came out gum. Anyway we had a conversation which is good. Even if it does not make sense to anyone but mom.
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11 comments:

  1. Rebecca NelsonDecember 7, 2009 at 9:01 AM

    Karen...I'm convinced that deep down inside your Momma she is there. I'm going to see my father this afternoon and even though MOST of the time he doesn't know me, there is always a glimmer of grace shining through in the darkness.

    He may not know me, but I know him.

    Love to you~

    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cass @ That Old HouseDecember 7, 2009 at 10:26 AM

    It doesn't have to make sense to anyone but her, and she is so, so, so lucky that you understand that. My mom is still holding conversations, but often now a word is substituted for what she really means -- and we are left scratching our heads, wondering. But she knows what she meant! As I tell family or friends who come to visit Mom, "just try and enter into her world as much as possible, don't try and bring her into yours."
    Cass

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carol Noren JohnsonDecember 7, 2009 at 4:11 PM

    It does hurt that love ones cannot enter our world, but they do have emotions and I guess we can enter their world with our emphathy even when the communication is no longer clear.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DoloresDecember 8, 2009 at 8:25 AM

    Good morning Karen,
    I love what Cass said about entering into their world, rather than try bring them into ours... I'd never thought of it like that.

    David called his slippers "strawberries" yesterday, after I said, "what?"..... we had a good laugh, first time he's done that.

    Hope you're week is going well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. karenDecember 8, 2009 at 10:08 AM

    I think they do know us but maybe can't find the right words to tell us so. I have been living in moms world so long now it will be weird when I try to enter into the real world again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Joseph J. Sivak MDDecember 8, 2009 at 10:41 AM

    Hey Karen,
    Sometimes the words are not important. The fact is you are communicating with your mother. She does sense and feel your presence. It is like when we hold and talk to an infant, on some level they feel safe and warm and know are presence, even though they don;t have verbal language development. Being in the same room, the same space, the same moment is what is important. There is unlimited value and meaning in that. It is timeless and will always be. You know there are good days and bad days, some days the verbal communication will be more coherent, we can't predict those days and they get to be less and less. The bond between mother and daughter was there long before language and no one or no disease can ever take that away from you and your Mom.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownDecember 8, 2009 at 9:31 PM

    Sometimes they don't mean exactly what they say since words can get lost in the meaning they're trying to convey. My mom-in-law says some of the same things and we're never sure since she often can seem happy when she says them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. karenDecember 9, 2009 at 9:15 AM

    Thank you all. You are always so right.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy@HomeDecember 9, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    I think Cass hit the nail on the head with entering their world rather than trying to get them back in our world. It took me a while to learn that with my mom, but once I did our visits were completely in her world. Our conversations often didn't make a lot of sense, but we did laugh a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  10. LeslieDecember 11, 2009 at 6:53 AM

    Hi Karen,

    I love what the doctor said - that the words aren't as key as the fact that you and your mom ae communicating. At some level, she "knows" or senses you loving presence and just wants to still be in relationship. Once again, I'm so touched by the wonderful loving work you are doing with you mom.

    ReplyDelete
  11. karenDecember 11, 2009 at 9:06 AM

    thanks, I and so happy that you all give me such good advice and nice words. It helps alot.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog and I love reading your comments. Please come back soon. Karen

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The Early, Mild to Moderate and Advanced stages of Alzheimer's in the brain.

The Early, Mild to Moderate and Advanced stages of Alzheimer's in the brain.

Seven Stages of Alzheimer's

1. No sign of congnitive impairment. 2. Very mild congnitive decline. 3. Mild congnitive decline. 4. Moderate congnitive decline. 5. Moderately severe congnitive decline. 6. Severe congnitive decline. 7. Very severe congnitive decline. (Congnitive pertains to the mental process of perception, memory, judgement, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.)

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