An Alzheimer’s Caregiver Blog http://www.knowitalz.com Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:42:59 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.knowitalz.com/community/caregiver/dooty-calls.html Our dog poop guy looks like Santa Claus. Click the link if you'd like to see for yourself. I know that sounds ridiculous (not only to have a dog poop guy, but also that he looks like Santa Claus) but we have 2 dogs in a fenced yard and well, Dad stepped in poop pretty often when we were outside enjoying the yard. We decided as a family that $60 a month was a worthwhile investment. The lawn-mowing became less messy as well. Anyway, Jim came today for his weekly collection and Dad said, Santa is here to pick up the poop. What a wonderful time he must be having in this 95 degree weather. I said. Well, Santa has to do something in the off season. Dad replied. Now who can argue that logic?? Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:18:26 +0100 http://www.knowitalz.com/community/caregiver/the-big-switch.html I was telling Dad (for the 50th time) to please use his walker, when he asked me, Exactly when did I stop being in charge of you and you started to be in charge of me? When I started getting excited about 12 packs of Boost (nutritional drink) on Sale instead of 12 packs of Beer on Sale! I think the beer is actually cheaper! Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:41:22 +0100 http://www.knowitalz.com/community/alzheimer-s/im-back-and-well-rested.html Hello All, Please let me first apologize for not writing my blog for so long. I was on vacation last week and worked on Almost Home and volunteered at my favorite nursing home. It was glorious. Update: Dad is finally sleeping through the night (I sound like a new mother) after 6 years of living here with me. It occurred to me the other day when I was talking about the Alzheimer's drugs with another caregiver that Dad has been taking his Razadyne and Namenda in the afternoon. Since they are both stimulants, you would think that I would have realized that was not helping his sleeping situation. So I called his neurologist and he said that it was fine if I wanted to try giving him the pills early in the morning. BINGO! He has slept all night long for the last 4 nights in a row. I wonder why I was not told to do this six years ago! At least I eventually found out. Now I might actually get to have a good night's sleep for a change! Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:10:58 +0100 http://www.knowitalz.com/community/caregiver/cold-calling.html I misplaced my cell phone for a little while this morning, and my constant attempts to call it were foiled by the fact that it was still on silent / vibrate from when Dad was still asleep. After re-tracing my steps and searching under every couch cushion, my desk, the laundry room, Dad's room, etc., I finally decided to take a break for a sandwich and resume the hunt after lunch. When I opened the refrigerator, there was my phone, next to the milk I poured on Dad's cereal an hour before. I found my phone in the fridge. I told Dad, who had recently joined me in the phone hunt. I guess that's not the hot line. He said. What a cool Dad I have! Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:04:57 +0100 http://www.knowitalz.com/community/alzheimer-s/no-ring-tones-in-1970.html While I was in my home office yesterday, I heard the sound of the back door slamming shut. This is a particularly strange noise, since Dad uses the side door to let the dogs in and out. So when I got up to investigate, I was disturbed to see Dad's walker at the back door and when I looked out, I could not immediately see him. When I called out his name, he answered that he was looking for the barking dog . Knowing that our dogs were both at my feet, I asked him to come back in and we would try to find the dog later. As I pondered the next step of Dad's disease including hallucinations and how I was going to deal with that, I heard my cell phone ring. It was my friend Peggy, whose ring-tone is a dog barking (she loves dogs). Thank goodness it was not a hallucination I thought. I decided not to tell Dad what it really was, since it would take me an hour to explain what a ring-tone even is! I'd rather he just forget the whole incindent. And of course, he did. Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:12:09 +0100