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.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Blueberry Pancakes and Chicken Salad

Hoping everyone had a wonderful long weekend. We did . My son grilled Chicken one day. I made a roast in the crock- pot the next day and Yesterday was the best. I made Blueberry pancakes for breakfast. And mom can eat pancakes . They mash up good and she loves them, She also does good with very tender roast , potatoes and carrots.  So when we make something for us that mom can eat it is a good day. I am a whiz at mashing things with a fork these days.
 But the best was the Chicken Salad my son made yesterday. He got the idea from Subway . They have a new chicken salad sandwich with dried fruit of some kind in it and apples. He went and got one . I thought it was ok but he really loved it. So he found a recipe online . It calls for 4 cups chopped chicken , 3 cups chopped apples , 3/4 cup mayo. Than dried cranberries, raisins and chopped celery to taste. It is amazing. I can't stop eating it. I made a sandwich for lunch and I keep going back to get more for snacking  with crackers off and on all day. It is the most healthy thing I have ate in months. Can't remember the last time I ate an apple.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Backing up your blog

I see everyone is having trouble with blogger today. My followers list is gone and when I went to visit one of my favorite blogs A Gathering Place she lost her's too and has not been able to sign in to her blog. She also said some people have lost there blogs or post completely so she sent us over to Mariette's of Back to Basics for info on backing up your blog. Head on over and check it out . I am going to try it now. Good luck everyone. Losing all my post would be so sad and I know it would be for you too. Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. It is not raining here. The sun is shining. OBOY!!!! If you click on the title it will take you to Back to Basics. And visit Rebecca's blog too. She makes wonderful things for the home.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Dressing

It is cold and rainy out. Sure does not seem like May except for the nasty weather. Tornadoes all around us. I pray for all the families in Joplin Mo. and surrounding towns effected by the storms this week. We have more coming tonight in our area so take care. I am ready for spring to be over and summer to start. It hasn't seemed like spring anyway. Cold most of time.
Since my son is getting up at 5:30 every morning for his summer job . I have been getting up too. We eat breakfast together. I have seen him more the last week than I have for months. His school hours are all different and we seem to be up at different times. But now he leaves and comes home the same everyday. I like it but I am sure it is hard on his girlfriend. Last week I think they only saw each other one maybe two days. She came over to have supper with us one night and she told him he was so nice and lovable. I told her absence does make the heart grow fonder. LOL!
I am going to go bug mom in a minute . She won't like it . But since I am up earlier she is up earlier. Makes since right? I start getting her ready to get out of bed and hour earlier. I don't think she notices the deference much . Just as long as she is getting fed. She does like to eat. Thank Goodness.
I haven't wrote about any tips from the Alzheimer's Caregivers Playbook I was reading for awhile so thought I would do that.
Mom is easy to dress now. We just put her in an hospital gown and she is ready to go but I remember when it was not so easy. Making her change cloths and take a shower was really hard. She was stinky there for awhile. But later on she started letting us give her showers.
1. Allow twice the amount of time you think it will take for her to get dressed.
2. Don't act rushed or in a hurry.
3. Limit her choices to two outfits. Let her pick which one she wants to wear.
4. Lay her cloths out in the order she needs to put them on.
5. Talk her through getting dressed.
6. Use short , simple, one-step instructions.
7. If she loves one outfit and refuses to wear anything else , buy several outfits that look just like it.
8. Use pants with elastic waist and pullover tops to make dressing easier.
I always wanted to make mom some cloths with velco on them but never got around to it. We could just rip those suckers off. It was getting really hard to get her in pants right before she stopped walking . She would fall at any moment . Her knees would just buckle under her without warning. I finally started putting her in skirts . Seemed to go faster. And when is was potty time . Skirts were much easier to pull up then having to pull pants down. But that won't work for our male love ones. I would go with the Velcro. LOL! We got mom shoes with velcro instead of shoes strings . I love them. When she still wore shoes anyway.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

It is cold and rainy today. My feet are cold. We have been enjoying sunshine the last few days than back to rain and chilly weather. I promise that I will not say a bad word this summer when it is hot. I will try not to anyway. It has been such a long winter . Just can't wait till summer is here to stay.
I here the world is coming to an end the 21th of this month . Well, since we have heard about it I am not to worried. Doesn't  the bible say something like He will come as a thief in the night. Not to worried about when he is coming . We need to be worried about being ready when he comes.
Anyway I was a bit lazy again tonight so we had Cheesy Mashed Potatoes , Applesauce, and pureed mixed veg. I  was not in the mood to cook any meat. So that's why mom got cheesy mashed potatoes rather than just reg. ones. Had to get some protein in there somewhere.  She was still chewing on the scrambled eggs she had for lunch anyway . Mom is like a chipmunk . She pockets things in her cheeks. For breakfast I was not so lazy. We had homemade biscuits and gravy. Mom eats bread better than biscuits . So she had bread and gravy. I actually like bread better . But my son loves homemade biscuits. He will be starting his summer job Monday . We will miss him. He will be so busy all summer.
Mom had her evaluation from Hospice today. I believe they will keep coming. She is not getting any worse but of course with Alzheimer's you never get any better either. The nurse measured her arm the other day and she is losing weight but not to fast. That is good. Her bones are sticking out all over. I hate it. But she eats good and I love that. We just take it one day at a time and the good with the bad. Hope everyone has a nice weekend. With some sunshine.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mothers Day!!!

I want to tell all my blogger friends Happy Mom's Day ! It is going to be sunny and warm today here in Arkansas. I do believe I will have to turn the air one. I had a fan  in mom's room last night . And I only covered her up with a sheet. She seemed ok. I got a little warm. Even with the windows open there was no breeze. Our sink is still stopped up. I am so ready to move into a nice condo so all I have to do is call the maintenance man to come fix something. Last month it was mom's bathroom sink this month it is the kitchen . I am so waiting for the money to move into a condo too. LOL!
Last night my son said that if my sister came over today he would take me to the Casino for a buffet dinner. He just turned 21 last month so I think the casino thing might be more for him than me. I never go except twice in Las Vegas for vacation where I spent a whole three dollars on a slot machine. We are not big gamblers here. Anyway I said it is my sister's mothers day too so she might have plans. Than I told him I would like a Hot Fugde Sundae for Mothers Day. So guess what I had for supper last night. Yes, a hot fudge sundae. Yum!!!
I like mom's day at church. Mom used to keep the nursery but on mothers day the men stayed in the nursery and did all the work in the church kitchen so the moms could enjoy the day. And it was a big deal for all the ladies. We would wear nice dresses and have pretty corsages on. It was kind of like easter only just for mom's. Mom has a big box of corsages. We seem to always buy the fake ones instead of real ones. She loved keeping them. I forgot to tell her happy mom's day this morning . I better get off here and go do that.
I am not a very good witness for the lord am I? Casino's and Church all in the same post.
 Have a great day!!!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Meltdown

OK, I had a meltdown today. I am a little stressed because the kitchen sink it stopped up and I can't get it unstopped. And now I have to have my brother come in and unstop it. I even took the pipes underneath apart . They are all clean . I put it back together and still stopped up. That means it is under the house or behind the wall. That just sucks.
But the meltdown came while the nurse was here. I guess I am going crazy . For months all I think about is mom's funeral. How stupid is that? I think about it all the time. Music, food , preacher, pallbearers, the service. I know the chapel takes care of a lot of this but mom has been so out of the real world so long that her friends and family are already passed or have not been around in yrs. I worry no one will come . Or a lot will come and then how do I feed them. When my dad died we had a family dinner at church . But we have not been to that church for yrs. Our pastor comes to visit now and than but he is a pastor of a new church and the members of the old church that might still be a live have not been by for a long time. I have gotten great advice from some of you on this before . But it just bugs me all the time. The new thing is open casket or closed. Mom looks so different now. No teeth. No glasses , skinny, and her hair . Lets not go there.
I ask the nurse if she had been to a service lately for a Alzheimer's patient like mom and if the casket was open. She said yes. Than I lost it and started crying. I cry at home alone all the time. But I keep it together when someone is here. Not today. I am so stupid.
I think I will reserve a room at the Western Sizzling and tell everyone to come by if they want after the service . What do you think.? I have been to two services that did that. It was OK. Now what about the casket. Opened or Closed?

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Percolator


What do you call it? Percolator, coffeepot or coffeemaker.
Last night my son's girlfriend was looking at an old cookbook that her grandma had gave her and it had the recipe to make coffee in a percolator . She said what is a percolator. So I went and got one of mom's coffeepots. "That's what  I call them" and perked her some coffee. She says I have never seen anything like that before in my life. Boy now I know how old I am.
I made coffee for breakfast too. I usually have a cherry Dr Pepper for breakfast but for a change I perked coffee. It was pretty good. I also made blueberry pancakes that tasted really good. I can smash them up and mom can eat them. She finished off her plate. It is raining again and chilly out so coffee and pancakes hit the spot.
Mom has a new hospice Chaplin  going to come visit soon. The old one has a different route now. I might tell him he does not have to come since mom's pastor is coming to visit too. We will see how I feel when the new one calls to make an appointment. I guess you can never get to much help. And having someone to pray with is nice.
Mom told me she was going to kill me the  other day when I was moving her around. It is not the first time nor will it be the last . She also said today after I took her water away . Come Back Here!!!! Those are very good sentences. And if she makes good sentences I am happy. Even if one of them is not so nice.
Happy May to All.

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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