Senior Maintenance Kit

Once a month my parents need 'maintenance'
so I thought I would share some helpful tips.
For ear cleaning-
I have a bottle of wax removal drops which I
take a q-tip and stretch out the cotton and
moisten the end with this. I have them clean the
ear canal as many times as it takes using fresh
until it comes out clean, then finish with a dry one-
always stretching out the cotton so it isn't so hard.
Then the hearing aids.
I found an outstanding kit at walmart for this task.
It was in the pharmacy and it is a
 Hearing Aid Cleaner 5 tools in one.

I found this to be Extremely handy to clean wax out
of the aids.
Next is new batteries. Nail clipping and filing.
It is pretty difficult for them to let you do these things
for them, pride is hard to overcome.
But it is necessary and they agree that they would rather
I do it for them then let it go or have a stranger. 

Christmas 2010

When I visited my father on Wednesday I hid a present in his dresser drawer.
Christmas morning I called him,
He sounded sad.
I told him to go look. He called me back after a few.
Called me a 'stinker' and sounded quite happy.
I went over my mother's x-mas morning because I was sure she wouldn't touch
the presents without coaxing.
Later that afternoon I was shocked to find her out in the hallway
she was looking quite forlorn and sadly out the window...I couldn't
stop and reluctantly left her there.
When I called her 20min later to make sure she got home ok
she told me a neighbor had brought her dinner & walked her home.
I LOVE my neighbors..
Blessings abundant upon them.
None of my other siblings called or visited.

Alzheimer Forums

I found reading these to be a big help-
http://www.caring.com/forums/alzheimers-forum

http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org/ed/bb/index.cfm

Demencia Fixating

Just got back from 'yelling' at my mother once AGAIN to leave her fuse box ALONE! I might as well just be the adult voice on the Peanuts. I had put a big note on there "Do Not Touch" and when I pointed it out once again
this time she *poked* it and said " I touched it" .
GRRR!!!! I tore the sign down and said 'fine, zap yourself" and left.
She becomes fixated on things- Especially things that she has been
told not to do, or TO do, rebelling against either.
People keep telling me that I am lucky to have my parents-
I feel I lost them both a long time ago.

Fuses and Confused

After dealing with dad & the wheelchair I
Went to mom's to find her fuse box open.
It felt cold over there so I turned up the electric
heat. I heard it click but after a half hour it was still
cold. I went and found she had shut OFF the fuses!
She complained of feeling sick
and threw up... I know from past experiences that
this is from taking two Aracept instead of one.
Of course she does not remember taking anything
or what she ate...
The rest of the time was spent with her saying she doesn't
have enough room in her closets and she wants to
move back to Ohio to the home she used to live in.
I have taken half the clothes out of her closet but she
is fixated on this,on moving,on how to work the heat..
Round and round the conversation goes till I have to
run out as my sanity slips away.

Wheelchair and Tales

When the guy pushed my dad down & cracked his hip
he got a wheelchair. A new one from the VA paid for
by his insurance. When the P.T. said he didn't require it
anymore and brought a walker the wheelchair disappeared.
Seacrest said it was in the attic.
 Dad said he wanted to store it in his room.No.
 I asked for it and was told it's in
the attic so he wouldn't trip on it.
 I want it. No, we don't want him to use it.
Today I insisted I am picking it up.
They had a chair there but it wasn't the one.
His was brand spanking new & the one there
was not. I said I'd be back tomorrow.
They also said that dad had flung himself to the floor
in an exaggerated manner after being bumped by the
other man. Making his injuries worse.
This is a lie.

This is all too much for me.

Crazy VA Hospital

So, the VA van picked dad up but no one there knew why he was there!
They asked him who his Dr. is..He doesn't know, he's there because THEY
made the follow up appointment!
They had no info on me, my phone call or request to have foot looked at.
They took x-rays and sent him back.
This is the same hospital that sent him out untreated when he went in an
emergency after being thrown down & cracking his hip!
crazy.

The Good and Bad Today

I have enrolled my mother and I
in a fitness program here. There are
machines sort of like the ones at Curves.
She has told me that she would rather do this
than go to day care & sit around.
I have decided it would be good for me also.
My father told me he has a huge bruise on his
left side. The opposite side of his cracked hip
from being pushed down by a resident.
It is very disturbing that he does not remember
the event at all.
I spoke with the Dr's secretary earlier about making
sure they look at his feet. I noticed a couple months
ago he had an infected toenail and I know he wont
say anything....And now this.