It was typical, in times past, for her to sleep for a day
or two after being so engaged. It is exhausting for an Alzheimer’s sufferer to
have to be on alert and processing status for long periods like that. Thus, extended
periods of rest afterwards, is to be expected. This time, however, there may be
contributing factors and we are trying to wade through things to be sure we
know what we’re seeing.
She has been having that pain in her right shoulder and
wrist, so Hospice has prescribed a medicine for her that might be making her
sleepy. It didn’t seem to have that affect the first day she was on it, but the
two subsequent days have been very sleepy days for her. We are not sure if it’s
the meds or the exhaustion that are making her sleep most of the day and be so
hard to waken in the mornings.
Also, she could be dropping into another phase of the
disease. She is not willing to get up at nights any more to go to the bathroom.
We have moved her from Depends to heavy duty diapers for the nights as a result
of the obvious issues related to sleeping through her potty runs. The breakdown
in her ability/willingness to get up at nights could be just because she is in
recovery mode, or it could be an indicator that she is moving into a more
somnolent and less cognitive phase of the disease. Again, only time will tell
us which of these three possibilities is correct.
I will say that she totally enjoyed having the kids and
grandkids come and visit her. She may not have known, at all times, which
person, exactly, they were, but she knew they were hers and she knew that they
were delightful and loving company. She chatted and shared kisses and giggles
with all of them. The fact that she stayed awake and engaged until late in the
evening, for her, was proof of that. You cannot know how much those visits are
appreciated… even with the exhaustion that follows them. We can sleep anytime, it’s
a blessed day when we get to laugh and play with the people we love!
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