Faith

I know that as bad as things are with my mom, there is a reason for this, this is what God wanted. I think that without the illness she would have not moved in with us and looking at the silver lining here, now at least not only does she spend more time with us but in particular with my son, instead of only seeing her for a couple of hours on the weekends. I was reminded of this as recently I was glad to reconnect with a friend from high school who is in Chicago and he was telling me that although they went through some rough times with an accident their oldest son had, they know that made them stronger as a family. I have always believed in that, no matter how bad something seems, there is good that comes out of it as it is what God intended for us...

Strange comments

One thing I have noticed lately from my mom is she keeps making these comments about things she notices like she remembers but I know it is not the case. For example, we will be driving down the road and she will see someone walking and say "That man is always walking there at this time", well, seeing how we usually don't go down that street and at that time, I know it is the first time she has seen that man walking there. I noticed it first one day we went to the park, I usually ask her if she wants to go walking when I go running and she saw two older ladies walking and said the same thing "those ladies are always walking here at this time" and that time I thought maybe she did remember as we usually go around the same time to the same park, and maybe I just had not seen the ladies before. But then I did notice she started making the same comments regardless of where we were and who she saw. I wonder if it is a way for her to tell herself she does remember things. I, of course, don't comment on it or tell her that is not the case...

Another comment she made was the other night, she said she has been hearing the Ave Maria at night, like a chorus singing it. Again, I have not contradicted her but rather told her maybe it was the neighbors in the back playing some music that sounded like it.

13th anniversary

In a couple of weeks it will be the 13th anniversary of my dad's death. I am hoping it doesn't hit my mom too hard. As it turns out I will be starting my new job that week and returning late that night from NY so won't even have time to spend with her. For some reason the past couple of years the anniversaries have been very tough for me, I think it is because of my son, I know how much my dad would have loved him and love being around him and how much my son would also enjoy him. But I think more than ever that makes up my determination for the family to move to Madrid, not only what we have been planning on for years but I know that is what my dad would have wanted.

My wife

I am very lucky to have such a supporting wife, through all the changes and transition she has been more calm than me and I know I would not have been able to stay sane if it wasn't for her. For some reason the Alzheimer's has caused my mom to take up against her, I have read it is a common thing to all of a sudden for the patient to lash against a loved one. And my wife was the lucky chosen one ;)

Keeping busy

I am trying to find more activities for my mom as I have found that the more she is busy the better she is. She has a mass and a lunch at our church today, is a get together for a group of seniors. We are also considering joining the Y and they also have a group of seniors that have some planned activities. One of the problems I am finding is she is easily distracted so even though I got her some good books she will start reading them but then drift off and start thinking about her situation and gets down sometimes. I have tried to get her to read the book by Paul McKenna, How to Change your Life in 7 Days, as it reinforces the power of positive thinking, but so far she starts but does not continue; will keep trying. One thing I am still having a hard time with is controlling what I say to her, sometimes what I think is an innocent comment turns in her mind into a huge ordeal, like the other day I told her she forgot to wear her hearing aid and that turned into a huge ordeal, things that before would have been a simple comment she now sees as a big reproach.

Dealing with my mom's alzheimer's...

This is my first post. I read in caring.com that writing might be therapeutic for caregivers, that would be me, of Alzheimer's patients, my mom. So I am giving it a try. My mom was just diagnosed beginning of the year but we had been suspecting she had it for quite some time. I am glad we were able to get her started on medication as we have seen some definite positive changes. My mom has been living with us for almost six months now and it was quite rough at first but her attitude has definitely improved with the medication. She always had wanted to live with us and so we thought it would be perfect as we have an in-law suite in the backyard, but things didn't turn out just as expected at first. It has been quite an adjustment for all but I think it is starting to get better as my son now expects her to be around and as she gets to spend more time with him it helps her mood.