I have Alzheimer's and need to have fun with it or sit and cry.

Those of you who care for us with Alzheimer's konw how difficult we can be . We can get damn angery and quiet uncontrollable at times. I know I can get really confrontaitional to the point of physical violence and those around me knwo when to back away quickly and let me be. This is not really funny at all but I have to show you a video my daughter took of my getting out of hand.  Before Viewing You may want to go down on the right and turn off the music. As you can see they keep me well under control.

to get the full affect of this you will need your speakers turned up.

Again I am not making fun of this part of the disease but am trying to handle it in a funny sort of manner, be pissed, angry or upset with me, I have to deal with this.  As physically I am moving quickly to the later stages, my mind is starting to follow to fast but i will laugh as long as i can.

God Bless & Keep You & This Country of Ours!

joe

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The Physical Aspects of Alzheimer's

By now i wolud think that we all know about the mental trials that allll of us with this disease go thru.  Not remembering people, turning around and meeeting a new friend each time, wondering where we are, who you are, where is home, my glasses hell where are my pants.  Forgetting to use the bathroom timely oooh well. Spending and forgetting we did it, driving those close to us to exhaustion and we do not even realize it and in most cases do not care.  How rotten we can get and next minute the world is rosey to us and you have the problem. The list goes on and on and on.

But there is another side to this story, not being able to walk right anymore, cannot drive because forgetting what to do (our freedom is gone). Tiring easily from practically little effort. Standing one moment the next investigating the dirt on the floor or cracks in the cement. Trembling a good deal of the time, eyes get worse, food tastess funny, sleeping is a joke, not at night we go to the daytime, walking into things because we do not see them, winding up with cuts and the like because we do not realise that we have been injured, not eating just because. This is the other side of our world and much more but my brain cell is to empty right now to remember or clogd up, get the draino.

I find listing other things for you is easier these days then really talking to you anymore. I forget what I want to say, I sit down with this whole well organized thought out post in my brain somewhere, and it never shows up when I start, it goes walking down the street. I feel like i repeat the samethings over and over, but that is what happens here in Alzheimer's land.  It seems no matter how many times I am told yes we listen that no one really hears us. You suffer and all the books about you are considered to be by experts and people who know about this disease, but folks sorry you do not have a clue to this sise of the fence. I have pretty much lost sight of your side now also. My voice is becoming quiet and running out of its one time fire, i am worn out spent and just plain tired. I sit and wait for the bus to take me home most of the time, these moments of knowing and suddenly not are incredidablly painful and frustrating.I ramble on and on and on and cannot tell you what I really am talking about most of the time.

Well friends take care and be good to yourselves.

God Bless & Keep You & This Country of Ours!!
joe

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Posting On This Blog

Only one rule to those invited to post, must be on dementia any type and you are free to be explicit. If a caregiver your thoughts, what you have learned, what you see, etc. One always has something to say even if it is I cannnot take this crap anymore.

Please check out the In Memory Of page udates. If you want a love one added, use email form on bottom, or email me at jolynn1@cox.net  I need name, birth year, date set free and a picture.

This is our home please join in. If you would like to be able to post here using above guidlines let me know? Remember abuse the priviledge and u will be cut off and so will your post. You know language is not always a criteria here, but honesty is.

I have had the honor of speakinnng to Alan Rodgers, the nut, who is climbing the 7 highest summits on each connntinent for Alzheimer's Awareness. I call him a nut because he climbs these mountains, me I fall down them. He is going to keep us in the looop. He has reached over 20 million people already through the presss coverage and talk shows he has been on.  Alzheimer's took his mother about 1½ yrs. ago, so this is his mission and is takking us with him.  May God go with you Alan.

God Bless & Keep You & This Country of Ours!!!!
joe

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As you may know I have ben trynig to kep track of those who were in the HBO Documentary. Last time I had to notify of 4 of the 7 of us had passed. I still have no information on Fannie Davis, but I spoke to the care facility today that Yolanda Sanmartino was at and she is still with us physically and doing ok.

http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/memory-loss-tapes.html

The above link will take you to all parts of the documentary. You can watch them on line if you have not seen them. Link will also become a permanent link on my blog.

I am will continue while I can to keeep you updated. Take care and be good to yourselves.

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You Know My Love for Studies

Here is a link about possible preventive things against Alzheimer's:

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/headline_health/breakthroughs_Alzheimers/2010/09/17/350866.html?s=al&promo_code=AC7C-1

You be the judge of this. I think you will know my demented thoughts on this. The gene one only covers to my understanding maybe 5% of people who get AD. I would really like to know how they determine that the one's that did not get AD, would not have gotten it anyway. Stats can mean what you want them to.

God Bless & Keep You & This Country of Ours!
joe

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This Comment Deserves Posting Status

The following comment deserves to be used as a post. This is what I have tried to get others that were invited as posters to do. I share my side, you share yours.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "About the parboiling":

Good morning Lynn and Joe. I can certainly relate to this situation. Unfortunately, memory is not the only effect of this disease but also logic,reasoning, and EGO are noticably effected. We have one and a half acres of lawn which we have a good sized tractor for mowing. My husband refuses to allow me to mow with the tractor and always says that I wouldn't be able to handle it. The truth is I used to do the mowing with the tractor but he claims that he doesn't remember that I ever did. The truth has come out that he really feels it is the one thing he still does and doesn't want me taking over it. We have fought and fought over this over recent years now and I can't seem to win. His abilities to maneuver and control the tractor are noticably impared but I still cannot get him to concede to allow me to do the mowing. He is aware that he has problems with doing the mowing and procrastinates just as long as he possibly can. The best plan that I have come up with is to use the hand mower to cut the two areas that are potentially dangerous with the tractor. When I first started doing this he even continued to take the tractor over the same areas that I had already mowed just because he resented the idea that I felt it was something he could no longer do. I just can't seem to get across to him that just having him safe and uninjured by my side day after day is so much more important to me than him proving to himself that he can still do certain things. I think we could all benefit from hearing from others who have faced these challenges and how they were able to successfully navigate through these types of situations. Thank God Joe's experience was his parboiled fanny and not a fall from the roof! I pray that my husband's experience will only be damage to his tractor and not to his body.
May God bless us and guide us through our journey of life, whatever it brings our way!



Posted by Anonymous to Living with Alzhiemers' at 6:50 AM


God Bless & Keep You & This Country of Ours!!!
joe

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You Are Needed!!!!!!!!!!

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Thanks for Taking Action!
Date:	Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:55:15 -0500 (CDT)
From:	Brendan Burns, Alzheimer's Association
Reply-To:	Brendan Burns, Alzheimer's Association
Organization:	Alzheimer's Association
To:	jolynn1@cox.net

Joseph, Thanks for taking action! We need your help to gather more petition signatures. Please take a moment to forward the message below to your family and friends. It's quick, it's easy and it will only take a few moments to make a big difference. Thank you, Brendan Burns Subject Line: It's Time for a Breakthrough Dear friends, Alzheimer's disease steals the future from millions of Americans. It robs spouses of their companions and children of their parents and grandparents; it erodes the health and financial resources of caregivers. I just signed a petition calling on Congress to make Alzheimer's disease a national priority. Will you add your voice? http://www.alz.org/petition Your signature will be delivered to Congress on September 21, 2010 World Alzheimer's Day. Together, we can make Alzheimer's a national priority.

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I think that Anonymous has hit it right on the head. There are times that I want to wring the old guys neck. I love him and always will but he can be such a pill that it he is hard to take. But then he would dearly love for all of us to take a hike and not come back because we bug him. Two way street. I have not wanted to write on the blog because I am a private person and Joe has put us out here. So I guess that in the long run if it helps one of you out there, so be it. I understand the not happy caretaker thing. Joe and I have had a few problems lately and I have walked out of the house a few times and I probably will a few more before this is over. I have promised him that I will let him know when I am leaving now because the last time I left for 20 min. he left and we did not know where he was for an hour until the park rangers found him.
I was even on the phone with the police. Scary times. Our kids say things will get better but I feel that things will only get different. Better will be when we do not have any more worries or fights. I cry alot too. You really are not as alone as you think. I have not coped with this as well as it seems. I am learning though that there are others out here that feel as I do and I guess that is what this blog is all about. Please keep reading and posting when you can or care too. Our stories are so close, Joe hates to go out and I wait for him to decide what he wants to do, we tell each other that we love each other when we are awake to do so. Forget it at night. I do believe that he is grateful that I am around, but I do not expect him to say it. Just holding hands sometimes is enough.
Take care and enjoy those moments when he is truly with you.
Lynn

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