Love and Laughter

I think I’m slow in writing these updates sometimes because it seems like they are always so sad… I’m not sure if I’m concerned about worrying you or if I’m concerned that I will begin to feel despondent from putting it all into black and white. But it isn’t all sad, so let’s get the downs out of the way first and then we can dance with the ups at the end.

Within just the span of a couple of weeks we have seen a noticeable increase in incontinence. Where, two weeks ago it was an occasional happening, last week it became an at least once a day thing and this week there is no pretense left that she has any control. She still will ask to go to the bathroom once in a while, but she will have already saturated her Depends by that time from a previous need to go that she missed. That is fine, of course, because that’s why we have Depends. It just highlights a decline… for now. As you have probably figured out, with Alzheimer’s she can decline for a while then bounce right back. So maybe next week we’ll have no incontinence at all. 

She is still eating a good breakfast, but later meals are sort of hit and miss. We try finding foods that have a lot of flavor and distinct form for her to eat. It seems that if she can’t tell what a food is, then she is less likely to eat it. For example, she will eat steak and potatoes and veggies on her plate, but if you put them in a stew, they are less defined in form and, to her, less palatable. She will no longer eat old favorites such as stew, spaghetti, and even grits for this reason. Softer foods will become safer at some point in time, but right now interesting is our key. There are some foods that she likes, but which elevate her blood sugar. A particular chain of Chinese food, for example, will send her blood sugar up 10 or 20 points in the morning, but she loves the flavors and consumes it with relish. Thus, we set aside our worries about blood sugar, at this point, and buy enough to give her a couple of good meals. At this juncture, a day or two of high blood sugar is not going to hurt her and keeping solid food in her system is a huge offset.

My brother came to visit this past weekend and we had some friends in for dinner. The noise and laughter had her attention for a while, but she tired about 7:00, her usual bed time, and asked to go to bed. She slept for about an hour, and then she wanted to get up and come back in to join the party. She stayed with us, laughing and having a bit of dessert, until 9:30.  She was engaged and conversant, in so far as she was able to be, the whole time. She really enjoyed the gathering and, when the guests began to rise and head home, she was ready to go back to bed. She slept in the next day, of course, but she really loved having the family and friends here to visit. Did she recognize my brother at first? I don’t know. But he sat with her and chatted with her about his sons and their adventures and she relished every minute of the time she had with him. Tomorrow my sister and one of her daughters arrive for a visit. They are bringing my niece’s boyfriend along to meet mom. Being surrounded by women all the time, mom truly savors the company of men, of any age. I hope she’ll at least TALK to her daughter and granddaughter with that handsome young man here!  I bet everyone gets a chance to sit and talk with her… she is, after all, the consummate hostess!