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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Alzheimer's / August 2007

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today was not good

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J J - 03 Aug 2007 06:13 GMT
I went to see mom, but all she did was complain to me how bad it was
there, said there were no nurses  around and that no one comes to see
her like her aunt and so forth (all the dead relatives) I told her thats
because they all live in New York. she blames me for putting her there,
I have to change my tactics now, as she was walking a little bit with
the walker. I have put her in the best place I could find they wait on
her hand and foot, I feel so guilty and bad. I get more depressed when I
go to see her ---I think I am going to give myself a few days off from
her. I just will call to see how she is doing. I know she is being well
taken care of. better than what I was doing. she is much more alert as I
would keep giving her agitation pills when she was here complaining
about wanting to go home all the time. Hope she will adust to it. The
director said that alzheimer's need to have a routine and once she keeps
the routine she should hopefully come around to like being there. now
she is showing her anger to me, which really hurts---
JJ
Evelyn Ruut - 03 Aug 2007 15:03 GMT
>I went to see mom, but all she did was complain to me how bad it was
> there, said there were no nurses  around and that no one comes to see
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> she is showing her anger to me, which really hurts---
> JJ

JJ, you have to steel yourself against that sort of thing.   I know it
hurts, but it really isn't rational, and they really can't be made happy.
It is not really anger against you, per se.... it is anger against the
feeling of being out of control of their lives.   You are handy, and you get
blamed.   Neither you, or anyone else in this world can change that.   The
illness is what it is.   You can't make her capable of managing her own life
again, none of us could.   If it was in any way possible, all of us who post
here would have moved heaven and earth to make it so, and many of us surely
tried, with the same result.

It isn't the place, it is the illness.
It isn't you, it's the illness.

I think you are doing the right thing, and leaving her alone for a few days
will be the best of all possible solutions.   I know you are going to feel
guilty about it, because you are a good and loving daughter.   Your mom
can't reason anymore to tell you that, but we can tell you that.   She needs
to adapt, and you know how they find it hard to get used to new things.

It is the very nature of the illness that they are always in new
surroundings and meeting new people every day.   It hurts when they blame
us, but they don't understand, so you shouldn't take it personally.

My mother in law used to get lost going right across the hallway from her
bedroom to the toilet.  Then she would get lost and try to get in my bed
instead of her own on the way back.   She wanted to go out and feed the cows
(we have never had a cow in our lives) like she used to do as a young
teenager in Estonia.   She imagined she had a baby (at 83).    She was
irrational and at times it caused us grief, but it was the illness.

Remember always, your mom's brain is broken.   She can't reason anymore.
Behaving irrationally, or getting angry irrationally, is part of the
sickness.   You are a good and loving daughter who has done all she could to
make sure she is safe and cared for.   You need to tell yourself that every
day.

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Best Regards,

Evelyn

A R Pickett - 03 Aug 2007 17:01 GMT
Evelyn wrote in part - > Remember always, your mom's brain is broken.   She
can't reason anymore.
> Behaving irrationally, or getting angry irrationally, is part of the
> sickness.   You are a good and loving daughter who has done all she could
> to make sure she is safe and cared for.   You need to tell yourself that
> every day.

Evelyn is right.  And you HAVE done everything you could.

When children are small, infants are newborn, caring adults provide for
them, with the expectation and the experience that the little ones will
continue to grow in maturity and the ability to handle life for themselves.
No one would ask a newborn "Do you want milk or orange juice?"  But that's a
sensible question for a two year old to consider.  And so on for millions of
other decisions we expect children to grow in to understanding.

None of us, NONE of us, ever contemplated the heartbreak of watching our
parents and other beloved family members begin to go backwards on this
continuum.

It hurts, it runs counter to all our expectations and inclinations.

But just as we cared for the very young, and as we were cared for by the
parents who can no longer care for themselves, we now provide the caring.
It's our turn now to understand what they cannot, to make the decisions they
can no longer make, and to care for them in the best possible way.

JJ - your mother is safe.  She has a daughter who cares for her, worries
about her, and will continue to do her best.  Now your job is to take care
of yourself so that you will continue to be there to meet your mother's
needs.

Take care -

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A R Pickett aka Woodstock

"Sometimes the facts threaten the truth"
Amos Oz, prize winning Israeli author

Read my book reviews at:
http://www.booksnbytes.com/reviews/_idx_ws_all_byauth.html

Now blogging!
http://www.journalscape.com/woodstock/

Remove lower case "e" to respond

Tumbleweed - 04 Aug 2007 00:16 GMT
>I went to see mom, but all she did was complain to me how bad it was
> there, said there were no nurses  around and that no one comes to see
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> she is showing her anger to me, which really hurts---
> JJ

JJ, just to add to what the others have said and agree, , but I think others
have said this, and I did and I'll say it again, leave here for a short
while but at least *several days*, she needs to get at least partially
settled in, every time you go back you are unsettling that process,
reminding here she can be somewhere else and giving he an opportunity to go
back, which isnt going to happen, no one person can cope alone its simply
not possible.

Make sure you do what you say you are going to and take some time off for
*yourself*, rest,and when you do go back, DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS about what
she has been doing or anything like that because chances are she wont
remember and she'll just make it up, bear in mind that a large part of what
she tells you likely isnt true in any case ....my dad would swear blind he
hadnt eaten all day, what he meant was that because he couldnt remember
eating, therefore he hadnt.

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Tumbleweed

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