So. We went to the doctor a week ago Tuesday to get the results of the CAT scan. Mom was not having one of her better days. The good news: No bleeding in the brain. No stroke. The bad news: Alzheimer's. Officially. And fairly well advanced, too. So there's no going back, now. The doctor said best case, 2-3 years, worst case, one, before she is incapable of taking any care of herself.
He did give us a prescription to try, Excelon, which is a daily patch. She's been very happy to use it. It can not reverse the plaque damage but it can stabilize the situation for a while. Doc said it will take a week or so to see any changes but I think I see minor improvements in her reasoning and verbal abilities already.
Could also be wishful thinking. (A long-range placebo effect? Her medication makes me think she's getting better?)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Word to the Wise
I've noticed recently that most of the birds that were hanging around the neighborhood seem to be gone. The mottled ducks are still up at the north end of the road by the canal and most of the burrowing owls are still there, but no ibis, vultures or parrots and hardly any doves, crows, mockingbirds, etc. I presume nesting season is over and most of them are just off somewhere but it is weird to walk around at dawn in silence.
The neighborhood falcon is still here, though. This morning he was sitting on the telephone line in a front yard at the end of my street. We stared at each other as I walked directly beneath him. As I went by a squirrel came down the driveway toward me, obviously oblivious to the raptor over his head. He was coming from behind the hawk so the bird didn't see him either. I stopped, pointed and yelled at the squirrel, "You idiot! Look up!!" He froze. I continued on a little way, then turned around. The squirrel was gone.
The falcon saw me coming back and swooped off the wire, diving down to my height before gliding up to the top of the nearest telephone pole. As soon as he did, the squirrel popped out from under some ground cover planted along the driveway and took off.
The falcon is not that big and the squirrel was probably more than he wanted to deal with, but still, it's nice to know the rodent paid attention to my warning.
The neighborhood falcon is still here, though. This morning he was sitting on the telephone line in a front yard at the end of my street. We stared at each other as I walked directly beneath him. As I went by a squirrel came down the driveway toward me, obviously oblivious to the raptor over his head. He was coming from behind the hawk so the bird didn't see him either. I stopped, pointed and yelled at the squirrel, "You idiot! Look up!!" He froze. I continued on a little way, then turned around. The squirrel was gone.
The falcon saw me coming back and swooped off the wire, diving down to my height before gliding up to the top of the nearest telephone pole. As soon as he did, the squirrel popped out from under some ground cover planted along the driveway and took off.
The falcon is not that big and the squirrel was probably more than he wanted to deal with, but still, it's nice to know the rodent paid attention to my warning.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
"If They Want Me To Get Well, Why Do They Want to Make Me Mad?"
That was Mom's question Sunday evening when reminded of her appointments for Monday and Tuesday this week.
My answer: "That's how they tell you're still alive."
Her response: "They should leave me alone and just guess."
Mom actually had a pretty good weekend. A fair amount of energy and the ability and desire to get up and around the house a bit. She's been going to bed an hour earlier which may be helping. A friend of hers form her old ceramics classes stopped by on Sunday. The woman, Ruthie, had called earlier but neither of them could hear the other on the phone so she just showed up on our front step. They had a nice visit for about twenty minutes or so and Mom was really animated.
Mom's second grandson, Dan, called from Iraq Monday afternoon. He'd called Sunday night but Mom had gone to bed early so he and I talked for awhile and he tried again Monday. He's part of the 50,000 "non-combat" troops still there. He's up in Kurdistan, going on patrol "arresting" bad guys. Technically the Army does the "arresting and he's Navy, but he speaks Arabic ("What's your name?", "What are you doing?", "Lie face down.", "Eat gravel.", the sorts of things that will be totally useless if he ever goes touristing in Egypt or Morocco) so he's the official translator. When he hung up I said, "Wow. A phone call all the way from Iraq! How about that?" Mom said, "Considering what's going on over there, I really don't want phone calls from Iraq." She wants Dan back here in the States.
When the home health nurse asked her questions, she got the date and year wrong, although she knew Obama is president. She also knows she wants her grandson back from Iraq. I'd say her mind is holding the important stuff just fine.
My answer: "That's how they tell you're still alive."
Her response: "They should leave me alone and just guess."
Mom actually had a pretty good weekend. A fair amount of energy and the ability and desire to get up and around the house a bit. She's been going to bed an hour earlier which may be helping. A friend of hers form her old ceramics classes stopped by on Sunday. The woman, Ruthie, had called earlier but neither of them could hear the other on the phone so she just showed up on our front step. They had a nice visit for about twenty minutes or so and Mom was really animated.
Mom's second grandson, Dan, called from Iraq Monday afternoon. He'd called Sunday night but Mom had gone to bed early so he and I talked for awhile and he tried again Monday. He's part of the 50,000 "non-combat" troops still there. He's up in Kurdistan, going on patrol "arresting" bad guys. Technically the Army does the "arresting and he's Navy, but he speaks Arabic ("What's your name?", "What are you doing?", "Lie face down.", "Eat gravel.", the sorts of things that will be totally useless if he ever goes touristing in Egypt or Morocco) so he's the official translator. When he hung up I said, "Wow. A phone call all the way from Iraq! How about that?" Mom said, "Considering what's going on over there, I really don't want phone calls from Iraq." She wants Dan back here in the States.
When the home health nurse asked her questions, she got the date and year wrong, although she knew Obama is president. She also knows she wants her grandson back from Iraq. I'd say her mind is holding the important stuff just fine.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Creative Cuisine
Yesterday I came home to find Mom had tried to make herself some supper. My brother had left out a can of soup for her to heat up (she loves soup almost anytime, so I'm sure it was at her request) but she was too weak to open it. Instead, she went rummaging through the refrigerator and found a leftover bowl of "soup."
She tried heating it up in the microwave but with no luck. So she heated up some water and added that to the "soup." Even that didn't help and it tasted pretty bland according to her. There was still an inch of broth in the bottom of the bowl when I got home. I asked her about it and she explained the problems she'd had. I offered to fix her something else but she wasn't interested in a meal so after some negotiations we settled on a PB&J on toast.
As I brought the bowl back to the kitchen I noticed the veggies floating in the bottom were actually lettuce, cucumbers and carrot slices. She had tried to transmogrify a salad into soup.
When my brother got home and I told him about this we both laughed so I know when a get to Hell, at least I won't be alone.
She tried heating it up in the microwave but with no luck. So she heated up some water and added that to the "soup." Even that didn't help and it tasted pretty bland according to her. There was still an inch of broth in the bottom of the bowl when I got home. I asked her about it and she explained the problems she'd had. I offered to fix her something else but she wasn't interested in a meal so after some negotiations we settled on a PB&J on toast.
As I brought the bowl back to the kitchen I noticed the veggies floating in the bottom were actually lettuce, cucumbers and carrot slices. She had tried to transmogrify a salad into soup.
When my brother got home and I told him about this we both laughed so I know when a get to Hell, at least I won't be alone.
Friday, August 13, 2010
A Question of Timing
The nice young woman from Home Health Services came by Thursday. Mom was very nervous about her visit.
The nurse was scheduled to come by at noon. The night before, Mom told me she didn't think the nurse would show up because she'd told Mom on the phone that she'd be here "at 12," and then changed the time and told her "noon," and then changed the time again and told her "about 12" so Mom had no idea when she might show up. I tried, but there was no way I could make Mom understand.
Mom went to bed a little early Wednesday night. An hour and a half later she was up and dressed and coming down the hallway asking, "Didn't that girl come by?" I said, "It's not noon. It's 12 midnight. She won't be here for another twelve hours yet." Mom looked out the window but still didn't believe me. I'm afraid I took advantage of her recent, more compliant personality and just said, "You need to turn around, get undressed and go back to bed." She did.
The visit went off fine. The nurse showed up fifteen minutes early and took Mom's history and vitals (Mom couldn't answer what year or season it is although she did get the day and date right and knew Obama is president) and timed her as she got up and walked across the living room and back to the couch. She'll be back Monday and will set up a schedule for the physical therapist.
The CAT scan is scheduled for Tuesday.
The nurse was scheduled to come by at noon. The night before, Mom told me she didn't think the nurse would show up because she'd told Mom on the phone that she'd be here "at 12," and then changed the time and told her "noon," and then changed the time again and told her "about 12" so Mom had no idea when she might show up. I tried, but there was no way I could make Mom understand.
Mom went to bed a little early Wednesday night. An hour and a half later she was up and dressed and coming down the hallway asking, "Didn't that girl come by?" I said, "It's not noon. It's 12 midnight. She won't be here for another twelve hours yet." Mom looked out the window but still didn't believe me. I'm afraid I took advantage of her recent, more compliant personality and just said, "You need to turn around, get undressed and go back to bed." She did.
The visit went off fine. The nurse showed up fifteen minutes early and took Mom's history and vitals (Mom couldn't answer what year or season it is although she did get the day and date right and knew Obama is president) and timed her as she got up and walked across the living room and back to the couch. She'll be back Monday and will set up a schedule for the physical therapist.
The CAT scan is scheduled for Tuesday.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Mom, Me and the Doc
So, after our trip to the emergency room on Saturday, we set up an appointment with Mom's doctor for Tuesday morning. I decided I would sit in on this one since I didn't think Mom would be able to explain everything that had happened. I was right. When he asked, "So, what's the problem?" she said "Oh, just the usual," to which I replied, "No, no, no," and explained the situation.
His diagnosis? Parkinson's-like symptoms (weakness, tremor, memory loss, etc.), possible bleeding in the brain. He says the new prescription should have had nothing to do with this. He's ordered a CAT scan, a visit from Home Health Services, and an appointment with a neurologist.
I think we may be making progress. If there is bleeding in the brain, I don't know how they'll stop it. Are there drugs for this? I can't see anyone ordering brain surgery on a 90-year-old woman. If we can stop it, is the damage reversible? All the fight is going out of Mom. She's becoming this very amenable, pliable, almost obsequious personality--which is not my Mom!
My Mom is feisty, argumentative, take-no-guff, opinionated--and I'd like her back, please.
His diagnosis? Parkinson's-like symptoms (weakness, tremor, memory loss, etc.), possible bleeding in the brain. He says the new prescription should have had nothing to do with this. He's ordered a CAT scan, a visit from Home Health Services, and an appointment with a neurologist.
I think we may be making progress. If there is bleeding in the brain, I don't know how they'll stop it. Are there drugs for this? I can't see anyone ordering brain surgery on a 90-year-old woman. If we can stop it, is the damage reversible? All the fight is going out of Mom. She's becoming this very amenable, pliable, almost obsequious personality--which is not my Mom!
My Mom is feisty, argumentative, take-no-guff, opinionated--and I'd like her back, please.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
It's a Big Building Full of Doctors...
...but that's not important, now.
What is important is that I took Mom to the ER Saturday. She didn't have the energy to get off the couch in the morning and kept saying, "I want to go to the hospital." So we called her doctor's office and got the on-call physician who said we could go now or wait until Monday but recommended we go now, so we did.
I do have to say that the admitting staff at Cape Coral Hospital Emergency Room are some of the nicest, friendliest, most helpful folk it has been my pleasure to run across in the medical profession. i talked to the screener who thought Mom was just the sweetest thing and offered to adopt her. True, we caught them at a slow point. Mom had to sign some paperwork and they were very understanding when she was too weak to finish her signature. They accepted her scrawl and let me finish the information part. After taking her history, we were told to return to the waiting room until an examination room was ready but before we could move a nurse came up and said, "I just saw the request pop up on my computer. Come this way. We have a room ready for you." It was a long ride on the seat of her walker. We should have taken a real wheelchair.
We were there for most of the afternoon. They ran a battery of tests on her, but mostly she just lay on the examining couch being bored even though staff popped in on a regular basis to see how she was doing. The tests all came back reasonably normal. They gave us a hard copy and we went home. In the parking lot on the way to the car Mom said, "Well whose idea was that, anyway?" I told her it was the doctor's idea. She would've vehemently denied it if I had said it was her own.
I made dinner and we made plans to call her doctor first thing Monday morning.
What is important is that I took Mom to the ER Saturday. She didn't have the energy to get off the couch in the morning and kept saying, "I want to go to the hospital." So we called her doctor's office and got the on-call physician who said we could go now or wait until Monday but recommended we go now, so we did.
I do have to say that the admitting staff at Cape Coral Hospital Emergency Room are some of the nicest, friendliest, most helpful folk it has been my pleasure to run across in the medical profession. i talked to the screener who thought Mom was just the sweetest thing and offered to adopt her. True, we caught them at a slow point. Mom had to sign some paperwork and they were very understanding when she was too weak to finish her signature. They accepted her scrawl and let me finish the information part. After taking her history, we were told to return to the waiting room until an examination room was ready but before we could move a nurse came up and said, "I just saw the request pop up on my computer. Come this way. We have a room ready for you." It was a long ride on the seat of her walker. We should have taken a real wheelchair.
We were there for most of the afternoon. They ran a battery of tests on her, but mostly she just lay on the examining couch being bored even though staff popped in on a regular basis to see how she was doing. The tests all came back reasonably normal. They gave us a hard copy and we went home. In the parking lot on the way to the car Mom said, "Well whose idea was that, anyway?" I told her it was the doctor's idea. She would've vehemently denied it if I had said it was her own.
I made dinner and we made plans to call her doctor first thing Monday morning.
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Open Road
I am pleasantly surprised to notice the number of cars out on the road with their windows rolled down, almost ten per cent by my rough estimate. Considering it's 78F before sunrise and 95F or more after and 90+ humidity all day. And it's not just older vehicles, either (although even the oldest cars have air-conditioning down here). Several were newer SUVs.
Are there that many Floridians concerned about the mileage differential? Or Freon (sorry, tetrafluoroethane) usage? Or are they just the real natives who don't notice the heat/humidity and enjoy the wind in their faces?
Are there that many Floridians concerned about the mileage differential? Or Freon (sorry, tetrafluoroethane) usage? Or are they just the real natives who don't notice the heat/humidity and enjoy the wind in their faces?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Fun With Pills, the Final Chapter
Mom and I have agreed for her to stop taking this latest prescription, the one that took her legs out from under her. She's supposed to be taking two pills a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, but she's been cheating and only taking one a day, either a.m. or p.m. Even so, they've been knocking her out. since she started on them I've noticed a definite physical weakening, loss of energy and diminished reasoning. It's scary watching her deteriorate like this.
Last night she took a pill and confessed it was the first time she'd taken the prescribed dosage, one in the morning and one at night. She could barely stand. It took several attempts with both hands and me helping to get her off the couch. I had to help her into the bathroom (she managed to get back out on her own, which surprised me since I had pushed her walker in there and didn't think she could reach the door with it in the way). She went directly to bed from there without watching the end of the ballgame and I had to help her with her pajamas. She told me to leave her door open until I went to bed. I told her we weren't going to take any more of those pills.
This morning, she got up on her own, and could carry on a coherent conversation. Her voice is much stronger and she seems to have more energy (this is obviously a relative concept). She is very relieved not to be taking this prescription any longer. I will be calling the doctor to explain the situation. We have an appointment next week.
Last night she took a pill and confessed it was the first time she'd taken the prescribed dosage, one in the morning and one at night. She could barely stand. It took several attempts with both hands and me helping to get her off the couch. I had to help her into the bathroom (she managed to get back out on her own, which surprised me since I had pushed her walker in there and didn't think she could reach the door with it in the way). She went directly to bed from there without watching the end of the ballgame and I had to help her with her pajamas. She told me to leave her door open until I went to bed. I told her we weren't going to take any more of those pills.
This morning, she got up on her own, and could carry on a coherent conversation. Her voice is much stronger and she seems to have more energy (this is obviously a relative concept). She is very relieved not to be taking this prescription any longer. I will be calling the doctor to explain the situation. We have an appointment next week.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Ice Cream, Mangoes & Mom
Mom's getting weaker. She hardly walks anywhere now without the walker. Today she changed her mind about going down to the end of the driveway to get the mail. She's also forgetting more words and having more trouble putting sentences together. (When she originally said she wanted to get the mail, I said "If you're up for it," and she was unable to parse that.)
She asked if she could have some of "my" ice cream (a "big favor") and I reminded her that it is "our" ice cream and she can have as much as she wants whenever she wants. She had tired herself out peeling and chopping mangoes. We're getting a nice crop this year and every morning, especially after a titanic thunderstorm like last night, there are a few more on the ground. I fixed her a dish of the chocolate chip cookie dough because she doesn't like plain chocolate.
This weakness and confusion has accelerated/become more noticeable since she started the new medication. I'm going to ask the doctor if that might be contributing. I really hate to see her deteriorating so quickly.
She asked if she could have some of "my" ice cream (a "big favor") and I reminded her that it is "our" ice cream and she can have as much as she wants whenever she wants. She had tired herself out peeling and chopping mangoes. We're getting a nice crop this year and every morning, especially after a titanic thunderstorm like last night, there are a few more on the ground. I fixed her a dish of the chocolate chip cookie dough because she doesn't like plain chocolate.
This weakness and confusion has accelerated/become more noticeable since she started the new medication. I'm going to ask the doctor if that might be contributing. I really hate to see her deteriorating so quickly.
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