Long busy week. Psychiatry appointment on Thursday. Dr Khan got a good example of the non-stop, hear from 2 rooms away tooth grinding.. a couple of times it actually distracted her mid-sentence. We discussed the "snipe hunt" issue, etc. She increased his anti-psychotic meds just a little. Glen got to have a bacon cheeseburger on the way home and was able to eat it without incident. Sadly, the same cannot be said for his dinner. Kids stopped at Outback on the way home and picked up takeout. They got Glen a chopped steak which we pureed by adding a little potato soup, the au jus sauce, and some gravy. We were having dinner while watching the Sharks game. I brought him his dinner then went back to the kitchen to get my own.. and in that time he managed to attempt to eat so much that he had a serious choking incident. So of course we adjust the rules.. again. Glen gets his food last so that someone is ready to remind him to put down his spoon and swallow before taking another bite, even of pureed food.

Next morning was Dr North. Glen got to have his favorite breakfast of a Starbucks Mocha and a sausage breakfast sandwich on the way. He can still handle sandwiches in the morning because his throat, jaw and tongue muscles are rested. His weight is good. Left shoulder is pretty locked up now, and is painful if someone tries to manipulate it. Since he has no voluntary muscle use in that arm anyway, no sense manipulating the shoulder. Doctor had him walk up and down the hall then asked me if there had been any falls. I said only two, and both had been med-related. "Hmm." he said. One should always pay attention to doctor-issued 'hmm's. We spent a fair amount of time discussing the dementia, eating issues, etc. Dr North usually engages Glen in conversation about sports or something similar to assess his mental processing.
While there, I had him fill out the physician's report for the day care/activity center. Both Dr North and Dr Khan are really happy I've found the place.. in Dr North's words "we don't want TWO victims!" He also said that we can expect to see Glen's breathing start to deteriorate over the next few months. We'll see him again in about 8 weeks, barring any kind of sudden change.
So I spent much of the afternoon filling out the other 15 pages of paperwork for the center. Need to get a tb test done.. hoping to do that tomorrow when I go pick up a prescription refill. After that, I can drop off the packet at the center, and hopefully get Glen started the first Tuesday in May.

Yesterday.. I slept in late. Which was weird.. no dogs in my room, and nothing had caused me to wake up at 5 in the morning. So I went looking, and found Glen had indeed had a fall when he got up to feed the dogs .. so he'd been there from 5 am until almost 7:30. Bless her heart.. Buffy had stayed with him the whole time. Of course, Kev wasn't home at the time. I managed to help him sit up, then get him up off the floor, but naturally,it was at some cost to my back. Oh well.

Today, he's been the tooth grinder from another universe! He's mad at me for a couple of things (mostly I wouldn't take him to the grocery store) so.. he knows what will annoy me! Next project after getting the activity center taken care of will be to get in touch with the dentist to see if she has any ideas. The sad thing is all the grinding takes its toll on his speech muscles and makes him very difficult to understand at times.

And so it goes. Haven't heard back from the landscape designer yet. Will give him a couple more days then give him a call. Something happy to think about.

Attack of the Fairy God-cousins!!

On Saturday, Glen's aunt, uncle, cousins and spouses arrived to (I thought) help me move the furniture from what is now Glen's room to what is now the family room. And they did. I figured cool, we'll have a visit, and Kev and I will work on the tidying, etc, later. Seriously people.. I have two golden retrievers including a 2 year old pup, and a 20-something male child. It doesn't take a huge leap to guess there was.. well.. stuff under and behind the furniture.

So first we sent Uncle Nando and Auntie Nancy off for a walk with Glen, which was a great way to avoid stressing him out too much. I forgot to specify a route for him, so he took them on the longest route he has. Oops. Bless their hearts, they kept up with him and got him (and themselves ) home safely.

So it took a fairly short time to move the chairs and tables, and place them in the family room. We'd already moved the dog crates, and tv stand. Next thing I heard was "where's the vacuum?" I got as far as "oh you don't ha..." and got a slightly sterner "where's the vacuum". OK, yes ma'am.. I got the vacuum. And the broom. And the trash bags. And the... well you get the idea.

Have any of you read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? Because that's what it was like... while Michelle was cleaning Glen's room, Steve and Grant started on the front yard.. Michelle eventually joined them. In the meantime, Mel was power cleaning my kitchen... she found cleaning products under my sink that I didn't even know I had!! (Sorry, hon.. I'd used up the last of the cleanser Saturday morning after breakfast!) Kevin said to me later: "I was surrounded by this blur of activity and all I could do was sit there and watch! And find things." That was exactly how I felt. We both felt so... taken care of! It was wonderful.

They brought a GORGEOUS lilac plant. Oh, and Michelle planted it in one of the sad looking empty pots on my porch, and watered it, and now my porch looks much happier! Might have to get rid of the "go away" door mat! While people were working, I got a chance to just sit on the steps and visit with Auntie Nancy and Uncle Nando. It was lovely... I used to sit on the steps and watch the kids and dogs play..it was something good. So last evening I was sitting here with the front door open to let in a breeze and the smell of that lilac was soooo pretty.

And they brought FOOD... the tortilla soup is long gone.. it's one of Kevin's favorites, and it was Sunday lunch before he went to work! And pasta, and pasta sauce, and iodine-free cinnamon bread that was really moist and tasty!

And mostly.. they brought love. For a whole morning/afternoon, Kev & I did not feel alone and isolated! He and I talk often about how having people vaguely say "let me know if I can help" sometimes feels like extra work. I did have something I needed help on, but they came and did so very much more.. and the kid and I didn't have to think, we just had to soak it up!

If anyone's wondering.. yeah, we can always use help! The lawns keep growing, the floors get dusty (oh I can't WAIT to have a landscaped yard! Big paws bring in big mud!) and sometimes we just sit and stare at it all. Because the order of priority around here is: Glen's health and safety, Kevin's job, Kevin's school... everything else.

But for one wonderful morning... we were taken care of... we love you guys BUNCHES!!!

Before I forget....

Thank you thank you to:

NJ, Cindy and Zach for a lovely visit
Denise for Tuesday night dinners (the chili was AMAZING!)
John for taking Glen for a hair cut and beard trim... he looks great
Michael for letting me know the city was NOT something I had to add to my worry list
Mel & Michelle for just BEING there when I need a shoulder to cry on, and for volunteering your families to help rearrange my house!
Shelley for being there to really get it in the middle of the night!
Barb.. again what do I say.. you're an amazing friend

KEVIN... for.. well.. everything.

And anyone I've left off, I appreciate you all, my brain just gives out sometimes.

In case anyone wondered why I feel like I have to be on guard every second.... Hired a young man who is going to clean up doog poop AND walk Baron for me! Hooray! So... he comes today for the first time. I introduce him to the dogs and we head for the yard. I forget to latch the deadbolt. (some day I WILL learn!) So as I'm coming in the back door... Glen is coming in the front door. Um.. sweetie... where were you? "I went next door to see if Martha Daly was there."

Oy.

Well I appear to be turning into a once a week poster! In my defense, I came down with a NASTY virus this week. Kev & Rushi had it last week, and somewhere in the 3- 5 day incubation period I got it too. Given that Kevin works with the public and handles money all the time, it's amazing we don't bring in more viruses! So far we seem to have managed to keep Glen from getting it.

Definite "progression" in Glen's physical symptoms this week. I hate that term, because it actually means he's getting worse, but alas nobody asked me for my input on medical terminology. His left arm and hand are pretty much useless these days, and he definitly shuffles more than walks. He actually prefers his meals pureed now, where it used to be something of an argument. And sometimes even purees and puddings cause coughing. We're also having to ask him to repeat things more often.. his voice is very soft (probably a product of worsening breath control) and husky sounding, and he also has more trouble making his tongue and lips actually form the sounds correctly.

As far as the mental changes.. I will admit that at least the fixation/fantasies are becoming more intricate and imaginative! They have expanded from "having to look for Martha" to " looking for Martha who is out running with the girl next door. The girl next door is pregnant by the way. And I have to protect them from the perps behind us." OK.. for the record: Martha is fine, the girl next door is NOT pregnant and the people in the house behind us are very nice. Last night, said girl next door was out walking her dog and suddenly Glen was teeth grinding. He was angry because instead of walking her dog she should have been watching Martha.

What makes it really tough is that if we are not UBER vigilant, he will leave the house and go looking for the girls. I have had to hop in the car and go looking for him. So.. there's an alarm on the back door and a dead bolt he can't manipulate on the front and still we need to watch him all the time. Keep thinking back to Dr Khan saying he needed to be under "constant surveillance."

He got a nice outing today... John Stolan came by and took Glen to get his hair cut and beard trimmed. Not only does he look better, I think he feels better too! And we got a little break from each other. I will definitly admit to being crankier than usual since I've been sick!

So that should catch y'all up for now. Looking forward to next weekend when Glen's cousins are coming over... the help with moving furniture will be great. The chance to visit and catch up will be amazing!

Happy Easter

So.. Easter morning breaks dark and gloomy. Kinda figures, eh? Must admit I've been in something of a funky mood. Each new death in the family seems to undo my ability to bounce back just a little more.

Glen's doing ok. As I've mentioned before, the good and bad news of his condition is that things basically don't matter much. The distance from happy to sad to angry to whatever is minute. So while he knows his mom died, it's kind of an abstract, and the lack of a service keeps it kind of an abstract.

He managed a full blown escape this week. I'd gone out to the yard because I couldn't find Buffy. Workmen had left one of the side gates open. Luckily it was just the inside gate, so she couldn't get out, but was able to get to the garage. Not a safe place for dogs right now. Got her inside, and well gosh darn it.. I had to pee. And my bad.. I forgot to double check the deadbolt first. So I came out of the bathroom, and Glen was gone. Jumped in the car and drove the way I thought he'd go, but it still took me 5 to 10 minutes to find him. Seemed like hours! I will admit.. I was reeeeeealllly angry when I found him.

Yesterday, was doing dishes and heard the front door open. Yup.. I'd forgotten to deadbolt again. Dag nab it.. I like leaving the front door OPEN with just the baby gate across it. I hate feeling locked in here. But at least I heard him right away so he didn't go anywhere. Ad the good news is he does remember his phone number, and Kev & my cell numbers. But OY!

Kids made dinner for my birthday, and followed it with a Baskin Robbins thin mint and chocolate ice cream cake. Yum!! Friday, Sharon and I went out to brunch, then for mani/pedis. OK, we couldn't get into the place we'd planned (long story)... who knew WalMart has a nail salon! Talk about your one stop shopping.

So right now I'm catching up here while waiting for Kev & Rushi to come over for Easter lunch, before Kev has to go to work and I'll take Rush home.