Mom was born in December of 1920. She is in incredible physical shape. She is on no medications, she walks unassisted, goes up and down stairs like a champ, has control of her bodily functions (although there have been a few accidents lately) and is able to dress and feed herself. She has a good appetite, however every time it is time to eat she says "Oh, I couldn't eat a thing, I am not hungry at all". EVERY TIME without fail. We just ask her to sit with us while we eat and before you know it her plate is empty. There have been times, when she has eaten, I have cleared the table and put the dishes into the dishwasher and she will look at me and ask "Aren't we having breakfast today?" I just pull out another plate, load it up and sit with her while she eats again.
Our morning routine goes like this. Once the dogs are done playing and we have had our first cup of coffee. I get up and go into Mom's room to remove her dirty clothing and set out her outfit for the day. Mom is normally awake when I come in to do this. We have the same conversation each day. Mom will ask what time it is, I will answer and ask how she is today, she will respond that she is tired and I will tell her she can go back to sleep if she wants. She always says no that she is getting up. I then go into the bathroom and make sure her toothbrush has toothpaste on it and is on the sink along with her washcloth. Thankfully she can still brush her teeth (all of which are her own at her age), wash herself, comb her hair and ALWAYS put on her lipstick. Several times I have forgotten to set out her lipstick and she has found Tingting's concealer in the drawer and come down with no lips at all!!!
By the time Mom comes downstairs, Nancy is normally here already or arrives shortly thereafter. They have breakfast together and after breakfast they play several hands of rummy. I tease Nancy that she should consider herself a professional card player since she gets paid for playing every day.
Mom and Nancy getting ready to have breakfast before cards.
Well that's our morning every day....I am on the way out the door to do my errands while Nancy is here with Mom. Have a great day all.
See Day 2,
Bless you for taking care of your mom. Taking care of someone with Alzheimer's or any kind of dementia is very, very hard.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paula. I don't think anyone can truly understand unless they have been there themselves. I hope that you are fortunate enough to have some support.
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