Brief Update

I have just learned something new about Dementia. It is non linear. There are peak and valleys. We have just struggled out of a very deep valley and are working our way back to what must be called normalcy.

DH was severely depressed for four weeks. Saturday he suddenly broke through and was eating, talking and walking with no assistance. He is back to what was normal prior to Labor Day. It has been a valley of death in many ways. I thought I was going to loose him.

Now it is back to one day at a time. Sometimes it is only one minute at a time. We struggle with the daily issues and try to show each other our love.

Bless you and keep you.

Dear Husband

I will not be blogging for a while. My husband has gotten much worse and I will be trying to get him into the hospital today.

Please pray for us, Karen

Downturn

DH is starting to hallucinate. Last evening he asked me where the people were. When I asked what people he was unable to answer. I told him the only person that I was aware of visiting yesterday was his nurse. He gave me a blank stare and drifted off to sleep again. During supper last evening DH almost fell asleep while eating. This is not a good sign.

We go from day to day not knowing what the next day will bring. I had hoped to get a respite the first weekend in October. Now I have to find someone to stop by the house several times during each day to check up on James or I cannot go. We were scheduled to vacation in Pigeon Forge in November. I have a wheel chair and if the weather is good we can still get around. It all depends on how DH is doing.

Right now I feel that we are on a very slippery slope with no plateaus ahead.

Again I ask for prayers for all dementia and Alzheimer's patients, their extended families and caregivers.

Have a blessed day.

Difficult Weekend

This weekend was the most difficult so far. DH was stumbling, unable to remember things and it was difficult to understand what he was saying.

He spent most of the weekend sleeping. We went to visit his mother and she was in shock. She even said she didn't realize how ill DH was. She is dealing with her own heartache. Her only son.

Yesterday was Alzheimer's remembrance day. Please pray for all dementia and Alzheimer patients, their extended families and caregivers.

I am watching my husband die an inch at a time.

HAPPY DANCE

The power is back on in our neighborhood. It took an ambulance ride for a child down the street (dehydration) to get Duke to work but within 8 hours after the event we had power. A local policeman was going house to house yesterday checking on everyone without power. I am sure the interview with DH and my neighbor who has known me for 29 years and knows all about DH helped push Duke to get into our area.

THANK YOU to all DUKE energy staff and personnel. THANK YOU to the FAIRFIELD Police Department. You made my life much easier!

DH is on oxygen 24/7. He hates it!

DH cannot find his car keys. I may have to go home this afternoon (taking 1/2 day of vacation) to help him look for the keys.

Bless all of you who are praying for us and all Alzheimer and dementia patients and caregivers.

Things are slipping

Yesterday's visit by the home nursing staff has brought about many changes. DH will have to go on oxygen 24/7. He is going to fight that.

Pray for all who have Alzheimer's and other dementias and the caregivers of those who are ill with this disease.

Help may be on the way

Today I went home at lunch. I was worried about DH. While I was there the home health care nurse that was requested by our primary care physician called and asked if she could come over and do an assessment. Yes. Immediately. Long story short it looks like there are programs that we might be eligible for. Meals on Wheels would be a God send because I would know that someone is checking on DH while I am at work. Anything else would be icing on the cake.

While the nurse was there should checked DH blood oxygen saturation level and it was too low. She was going to call our doctor with the news. DH may have to go on oxygen to keep up the numbers. The nurse also said that James must not drive in order to be eligible for these services. This may be the only way I can get the keys away from him. I will have to sell the 2nd car asap, too. This has been a bone of contention for several weeks and even the doctors have told him to stop driving. He still wants that adult freedom. If I can convince him it is only as long as he needs the home health care assistance, maybe he will buy into it.

September 21 is Alzheimer's Day. Please pray for all patients and caregivers.

A VERY BAD DAY

Today is not a good day. In fact I believe it is the worst day so far. I called DH from work and he was not able to have a conversation with me. There were terrible lengths of silence and I had to repeat questions and then make them very simple in order to get an answer. I will be going home at lunch to check on him.

Bless you and please pray for us.

Reaction to damage from Hurricane Ike

Here in Cincinnati we had to deal only with the high winds from Hurricane Ike. However, almost 90% of our population were without power and we still have 50% of those without power.
DH is back in his depression. He feels guilt that he is not out there helping our neighbors cut down damaged trees, but he doesn't do anything about it.
Today is day two of the bad days after several good days. He even enjoyed the wind storm. Go figure.
May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.

A middle of the road day

This morning DH had difficulty eating again. No appetite for cereal. Tomorrow will need to be a hardy breakfast of biscuits and gravy to tempt his appetite.

Today he is complaining about wanting two good days in a row. I think he does too much on the day he feels well and then is too exhausted the second day. He was raised with the drive to work hard every day. Now that is really beyond his capabilities but had still tries. It's hard to see him slow down.

I am doing okay today. Now real stressors to deal with so far. But the day is early and I don't do too well at predicting the future.

God bless you on this beautiful day.

Getting back into the groove

DH had another relatively good day Thursday. Although he did have some trouble at the ATM he was able to finally get his allowance, get a hair cut and fuel his car. Today he was already to go fill it up when I just said no. He really has no awareness of the actual rise in fuel prices in the last week and what will happen in the next few days because of hurricane Ike.

This morning DH seemed functional at several levels. Looks like another good day.

Pray for us as we pray for you.

A Good Day

DH had a very good day yesterday. He mowed the lawn in the front and back yards. He couldn't remember unlocking the gate to the back yard and thought he had lost the keys to the gate and mower. Luckily he had an extra key to the mower and was able to do his desired chore. About 10 in the evening he found the gate and mower key right on the table next to his recliner where he had put them. We still have not found the missing phone and base.

Yesterday he was surfing the internet and found a website about sleep apnea. He was telling me that sleep apnea could cause stroke, dementia and death. I hope that he retains this information! Last night was the first time he didn't grumble about using his CPAP. I really hope he remembers. He kept the mask on all night. I really hope!

Today he is going to get his hair cut. He is still driving. Please don't let him get lost. I wish the barber where he goes was closer to home.

Thank you for your prayers the last few days.

A Good Day

Yesterday DH had a good day. He even recognized it as such. He received a call from my MIL that she needs knee replacement. She will be 88 in October and is still living on her own. He immediately jumped in to be part of the solution and called me at work. I contacted the senior center/nursing home near our home and got the necessary information. I called James and told him what his mother needs to do. Not a 1/2 hour later he called for the phone number and then proceeded to ask the same questions I did. He called me angry that I had not told him I already called. ??? Then he proceeded to wash and wax his car. Any activity is a good thing.

When I got home after work he was asleep and except for supper was that way until 8:00. But, he was able to eat supper without any accidents. Because he woke me up at 3:00 AM Monday morning I went to sleep at 8:00 and so did he. A good night until he woke me up trying to remove his CPAP. I told him to keep it on and he did.

One good day down and we will see what today brings.

Please pray for another good day.

The weekend

DH has not had a good day since August. We have an appointment with the neurologist in two weeks. I think I need to talk to the doctor one-on-one.

After this weekend with DH sleeping all the time, having trouble feeding himself, falling, messing up his pills and not coming to bed until the wee hours of Monday morning, there has to be something done. If this is just depression, it needs to be addressed. If it is something more I need help.

Pray for both of us and his mother. She is aware of what is happening and is frightened. He comes and goes as far as denial of the dementia. I am about at the end of my rope.

Update

Yesterday DH slept all day and all evening. I finally figured out why when I woke him to go to bed. He had taken his sleeping pills at supper time. He staggered down the hall and I had to help him undress.

I sure hope today is better or I will be calling the doctor.

God bless you and keep you.

I don't know

DH fell today. The only injury was his dignity. He has slept through the last seven days with little or no interaction with the outside world. He is confused. He cannot figure out how to use the remote control on the TV or the Dish. He is having trouble eating. His hands are shaking so bad he cannot control them. He does not know what day of the week is. He wanted to know why I was at home and not at work today (it is Saturday). He moved the remote phone from the living room and I cannot find the base or receiver.

I have no one to lean on and no one to talk to. I am lost and crying.

Up Hill Climb

DH is experiencing such depression that it is affecting his dementia. Since Friday of last week he has had no relief of his symptoms and in fact they are getting worse. When depression is fighting the medications depression wins hands down.

I need to get out my copy of "The 36 Hour Day" and use it as a reference and see what insight it may give me. Then I will pass it along to my daughter and SIL and ask them to please read or at least skim through it so that they can have an idea of what I am experiencing as a caregiver.

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.

Depression from an artical on www.cbsnews.com

CDC: One In 20 Americans Depressed

Sept. 4, 2008
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(WebMD) More than one in 20 Americans aged 12 and older are depressed, according to the latest statistics from the CDC.

Of them, 80% report some level of functional impairment because of their illness, with 27% reporting that it is extremely difficult to work, get things done at home, or get along with others because of the symptoms of their depression.

Reflecting this high rate of functional impairment, almost two-thirds of the estimated $83 million that depression cost the United States in the year 2000 resulted from lowered productivity and workplace absenteeism, say study authors Laura A. Pratt, PhD, and Debra J. Brody, MPH, both at the CDC. The authors culled data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005-2006, which comprised a nine-item screening tool asking about depressive symptoms during the past two weeks.

Baby Boomers, Women Hardest Hit by Depression

Rates of depression were higher in women and baby boomers aged 40-59 and non-Hispanic black people than other demographic groups, the study shows. And rates of depression were higher among poor people when compared to people with higher incomes.

A treatment gap also exists. Only 29% of depressed individuals said that they contacted a mental health professional in the past year, and just 39% of people with severe depression contacted a mental health professional in the past year.

Overall, these numbers are a bit lower than what we've seen in the past, but about five or more percent of people are currently depressed - that's one in 20 people who are impaired by an illness, says Donald Malone, MD, the section head of adult psychiatric services at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. If any other medical illness affected this many people, it would be a national crisis; but the reality is that depression is looked at differently and we don't hear those outcries for better treatment."

The stigma that is still attached to depression may be partially to blame.

Many people still come in and say depression is not real. It's a character flaw and people in my family say snap out of it, he says. The bottom line? People will not disclose something they feel stigmatized for.

Exactly how to lift the stigma associated with depression is a work in progress, he says.

Continuing to get the word out that this is an illness and something that is treatable with psychotherapy and medications is helpful, he says.

Depression is something real, not a character flaw or just who you are. It's an illness and we can make a difference.

Another tactic, he says, is to approach employers and let them know that one of 20 people working for them is not very productive because he or she is suffering from a treatable illness. This may encourage employers to develop programs that screen for and encourage treatment for depression.


By Denise Mann
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Another long night

Last night I got home from work and DH was asleep on the recliner. I took advantage of the down time and did a few things around the house. When he woke up at 9 in the evening I made supper and while we were eating I asked if he even remembered me coming home from work. Nope.

It's very lonely in our home. Pray for us, please.

It's Tuesday and it must be a working day

This was the longest 3 day weekend I have ever spent. DH had three bad days in a row. Either he was sleeping, talking about going squirrel hunting or mixing up his days and time. He started to feed the dogs their supper at 12:35 and thought it was 7:00 in the evening. He didn't remember eating lunch on Sunday and Monday he though we had already eaten when it wasn't even lunch time.

I am not sure how long this stage of his illness will last, but I see that I must get out of the house for a few minutes every non-working day or I will loose what little control I have and step over the line. It is so hard not to have anyone to talk to. Whether or not the care giver's group in my hometown is of any value or not, I must make every effort to attend the meetings.

Please pray for me.