September already

Here it is September already. Mom is having more trouble with confusion and anxiety in the mornings lately and seems to be going downhill a little more rapidly. Earlier this week on my morning call, she kept asking what she is supposed to be doing now. Recent evaluations have upgraded her to a higher level of care giving. She is eating well and has actually put on about 20 pounds. Some of her clothes are too small for her now. Her roommate has moved to another facility and she has the room all to herself, at least for now. OAR is going to repaint her room and possibly install a new carpet. We could not reach her on her phone for a couple of days last week as the battery had died but they got it recharged for her and it is working OK now. At one point, she held out the phone to one of the attendants and asked, “What is this?” This morning she did not answer my morning call in but a little latter she actually called ME and said that she was sorry she missed my call. I was impressed. Yesterday I picked her up for church and she had another real good day but she was very tired when I got her back “home” again. She is not walking for exercise like she used to do. Last week was a rough week for her but she seemed to be doing better today and yesterday. It was a joy to see her singing the old hymns of faith with uplifted face and her eyes closed. It was special.

Hot August Weather

Nice hot weather here in Washington this August. OAR is able to keep the facility relatively cool. Mom had another good trip to worship services at church last Lord's Day. All went well. Monday at my morning check in phone call, she remarked on how much she enjoyed being in church. We also talked about how Snickers and Popcorn are having a good time on their trip to Germany and look forward to hearing all about it when they get home. Tuesday was her "Beauty Parlor" day. She always feels so much better after her session in the Beauty Parlor and is usually the first in line for it. She is an early riser. We also helped her with her voting ballot for the Washington Primary and she was proud to send in her absentee ballot. Everything else seems to be going alright. Attached is an article on six things to think about in financial planning for seniors. Click Here.

Surprise visit yesterday

Mom had a good time at church on the 8th of July. All went well. Yesterday Ladybug and I stopped in for a surprise visit with her. She was in her usual spot out in the great front room of the East Neighborhood as they call it there at OAR. We went back down the hall toward her room and sat on the couch at the end of the hall and visited. I told her I was going to mail her the outlines of the sermons last Lord's Day. She said she really enjoys getting them in the mail. Today when I called her for our morning check in, she had already been to the beauty parlor and was out in the chapel area where she said they had some kind of entertainment coming in. I told her I'd call her back later. Love ya bunches. TWO BUNCHES!

Seven Tips

Mom has had a pretty good week. I call her every morning and she seems to be doing fine. Before I hang up, I always say, "I love you bunches." and she always responds, "I love you two bunches." :) I also send her a printed copy of the Sunday Sermons at church and she enjoys getting them in the mail. She has her "spot" out in the "Front Room" and is usually already in it by the time I get through to her on the phone. I had a bit of a stressful deal going on earlier this month with her Social Security and DSHS benefits due to people not doing their job in a timely fashion but eventually got it all straightened out. No need to bother Mom about any of the details. She becomes anxious easily but also can get over it before you know it. I guess that is one nice thing about AD. Found a good article on seven tips for Elderly Caregivers that you might like to see. Click Here.

Community Living

We are planning to pick Mom up for Church again this Lord's Day. She did well last time and we pray she will feel up to it again this Sunday. Here is a link to an article that brings out some positive things about Community Living and why Seniors now a days are liking it more and more. http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/why-seniors-prefer-senior-living-communities/

Memorial Day 2012

Yesterday was Memorial Day. It turned out to be a beautiful day in western Washington. I went over to OAR a little after 11AM and picked up Mom for an outing to our church picnic. All went very very well. We had gospel music, a patriotic DVD, games, Cost-co polish hot dogs, BBQ ribs, tater salad and all the trimmings, etc. Around 4PM I took Mom for a tour of Lakewood and we saw the Clover Park High School "Arlington Cemetery Project" where the students created a miniature cemetery on the front lawn of the school with all the little tombstones of all the fallen military personnel from recent service. Then we drove through the grounds at Mt. View Funeral Home where the drive was lined with old glory on both sides of the street and hundreds of American flags were installed all over the cemetery. It was beautiful and very moving. Mom stayed in the vehicle and I took some pictures before we headed home. Mom said, as we got under way, "Where is home? I don't even remember where I live." We got Mom "Home" about supper time and time for her evening meds. She was tired but had a great time. A little later in the evening, Snickers called to talk to Mom and she didn't seem to remember anything about the day at all.

Mother's Day

Last May 13th, Ladybug went over to OAR and picked up Mom for church. It turned out to be a great day and Mom thoroughly enjoyed the day to the MAX. She was there for the Sunday School, the morning Worship Service, the Noon Meal, and in the afternoon she was able to take the Lord's Supper. She was a little disoriented as to where things were located (like the Ladies Room) but I was careful to mention everyone's name as they came in and hugged her and she appeared to "remember" them. Ladybug, Snickers, Popcorn and I were all out of State for a few days at the beginning of the month but we called Mom routinely as usual and all went well without her getting distressed about us being gone. It helped to have a couple of visits from grandchildren during that time too. I got a letter from DSHS May 23rd that stressed me out a little. It said that they sent me an annual review form on Mom's status and did not receive it back so they were therefore going to close her account effective May 31st. (Don't you just LOVE bureaucrats?) I called them immediately and said, "Kicking Mom to the curb is not acceptable." They said they would re-send the form and I told them that I would fill it out again and FAX it to them before the end of the day that I receive it. Praying that all will go well with this and there will be no problems or disruptions for Mom.