Call it what you may, this just sucks. Posting this on facebook last week created a small storm. As many books that have been published on the subject matter, there is nothing I have read that prepares you for this. When I say "sucks", it is not what it does to me, but what AD does to the brain and a constant reminder of his willingness to do something and the difficulties he must be feeling.
Today, there remains a fine line between what WB can help you with, my insistence at keeping him active doing something, what he is willing to do and what I find everyday he has trouble with.
Every morning he makes the bed. Recently he has asked for assistance placing the sleeping pillows, decorative pillow and shams and some days they are simply all inside out and remain that way. WB also fetched the mail, but no longer remembers on his own. But, he is obsessed with taking out the kitchen trash. Sometimes it is full, other times he has just taken it out and gathers up a nearly empty bag. In my opinion, if he's willing to do it he can do it as much and as often as he chooses. Lately however, he is having troubles getting the bag on the inside of the can.
Seeing this brought a smile to my face.
There has been no manual, book or blog that prepares you for these things. They will explain the stages, somewhat prepare you for time frames, new medications, ways to cope, caregiver information and I have studied this extensively. Nowhere can I find "real" daily living with AD.
Continuing to remind myself that life is like a box of chocolates, I am going to reach out to several I know on the editorial staff at the Birmingham News to find a ghost writer or publisher.
Look out, Maria Shriver. You will never see this, as your father has been living in an assisted living facility for quite some time now. I certainly appreciate the awareness she is raising for Alzheimer's but feel that more of this in the ever-changing stages of dementia should be shared.
Just Brantley
No comments:
Post a Comment