Mom has really been feeling poorly the last few days. I did manage to get her bathed and dressed today. First day out of three that she hasn’t stayed in pajamas. She is still not eating much, no matter what I try to feed her. We settled on two scoops of ice cream for breakfast today so that she could take her pills.
Each time I give her the meds she asks,”What’s all this? I only have one prescription.” She has been on 10 prescriptions for years. Pills morning and at bedtime. She resists.
She is still wearing the heart monitor and has not taken it apart yet. She’s confused about wearing it but mostly forgets about it unless she touches or sees it.
Mom has been in her chair for the last three days and only gets up to go to the bathroom a couple/three times a day. She takes her small meals in her chair too and moves from there to her bed at bedtime. She is so weak that she talks and cries (at times) in a whisper. I have been unsuccessful in getting her out of the house for anything except doctor appointments. She simply refuses.
Her blood work all came back normal. The results of the urinalysis just came back negative so there is no infection. Her rapid decline is most likely the Alzheimer Disease. We won’t have the results from the monitor for about 25 days but I know in my heart it isn’t her heart that’s causing the new issues.
Mom is still cursing, something that she hasn’t done in her previous life. She snaps at me a lot out of anger. I know it isn’t me, it’s her disease. She is weak and helpless, which is hard to witness. Each passing day reinforces what I already know. I will not be able to care for her at home much longer. I dread that for her but her safety takes precedence over staying in her house.
Her friends don’t understand why she just can’t go out to eat and shopping with them. They only see snapshots of her life when they stop to visit. They don’t know she isn’t following conversations because she can’t, or that she isn’t talking because she doesn’t understand what they are talking about. They seem to think that all I need to do is force her to eat, force her to go out, etc. All is can say is, “This isn’t how any of this works.”
We have an appointment with her neurologist tomorrow, in hopes of a new medication that may help her appetite. I think they will be surprised at her rate of decline since her last appointment on 7/13. We’ll see what they can do to help her.
Today we are making lemonade out of lemons.
More later.
Gallivanting with Sandi 
Sometimes I was able to get Mom to drink Boost……even freeze it a little. I convinced her it was ice cream. I hope you get good results from the neuro guy tomorrow. You can probably get an idea of options for the near future. Whatever is best for her health and yours. Thoughts your way.
Laura B. Myers
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Breaks my heart and I know it does yours. You are doing great in dealing with her, as difficult as it is. Love you both so much.
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