Picked my mom up last week & had her overnight for a visit. It's been a while since we've seen each other & the time went by too fast. She needs supervision & help with a lot of things now (like getting dressed, turning on faucets & opening doors), so I can only have her with me when I've got enough time off to be with her 24/7. Her disease is progressing. I can tell that much. She asked me a few questions during the long ride from my brother's house to L.A., and then asked me the same questions not ten minutes later. At night, she got up after only a couple of hours thinking it was already morning. Then she got up a few more times - to use the bathroom once. The second time she got up I asked her where she was going & she said she didn't know, and got back in bed. This must be the start of the wandering that comes with Alzheimer's.During our visit I took her to the Getty museum where she enjoyed the outdoor gardens. We walked around for a couple hours & she got tired, so we left. Didn't see the exhibits inside at all, but I guessed correctly that she wasn't interested in looking at paintings. I'll go back another day to see the Rembrandt exhibit.
It was a nice visit & I took lots of pictures which I'll send to her. Not sure when I'll see her again. Things are so difficult between my brother not allowing me on his property, and sending me only 1/4 of the amount I need to pay off my debts incurred while keeping mom in her house in NJ. Mom doesn't understand what a difficult financial position my brother has put me in. It's better for her that she has no concept of how ugly the situation really is. She thought she was staying with me longer and didn't want to leave. She even asked me if there would be a "next time". Of course there will be, Mom. I love you.
www.ladyalchemy.com
Comments:
This is tough reading. My father hasn't had the wandering sense yet, but I told you about the repeated questions. I guess I am lucky everything is slow, but it is still rough.
Posted by: Daryle June 25, 2005 at 05:59 AM
