An Important Word
The world is on fire. Things are setting up for a huge collapse and/or terrible strife across the globe. Here's the thing--we've got to think of our loved ones. Do you have extra briefs? Extra food? Extra medicine? Extra toilet paper? Extra medical supplies? ...
Lewy-versary – 9 Years
It's been 9 years since Lewy exploded on the scene. I was away at the time and did not enter the picture until 6 months later. But it's been a wild, unexpected, dramatic 9 years. Complete with 7 unexpected traumatic surgerires including 3 hip fractures, 1 femur...
Bowel Incontintence
Bowel incontinence is no joke and it comes at late stages. For us, since mom has broken her 3x (2x on one and 1x on the other), she cannot stand. No longer can we get her into the bathroom in our older house to put her in the shower to clean her up. It's in the...
The Unseen 99
Imagine for a minute running a 100 mile ultra marathon. People sort of know but they really don't know how hard it is. They only see you at the last mile and wonder what's wrong with you. Why aren't you running faster? Why aren't you doing more? Why aren't you...
General Anesthesia – A Switch for LBD
I went to a medical seminar for practioners and sure enough, this is confirmed. General anesthesia is a switch for LBD. Since then we try to use a spinal block for us since we learned this (she did a hip surgery with this). Also learned that the LBDA.org people...
Dodging Tornadoes (Literally)
It's tornado season and it is coming on strong. With mom's latest hip fracture, tornado precautions have changed. We used to be able to take her downstairs as she could get in and out of the golf cart and we could drive her down to the basement door. Not anymore. ...
Hospital Again But This Time it was Me
My health is bad and I get it. I haven't taken care of myself over the last 8 years of caregiver. The Before I look good and the After I look horrendous. The season has been unbelievable difficult with extenuating circumstances beyond just caregiving. But then I...
Funny or Frightening?
The other day at the bank I couldn't figure out how to get out the door. It wouldn't do the automatic open thing. It was a small thing and it had no automatic doors. I asked the people how to get out of the door. "Push!" they said. I'm sure I'm their laughingstock...
Caregivers in Ukraine
I just saw a news article of those fleeing the shelling in Ukraine. They drive and when they run out of gas, they walk. I read stories of people pushing their elderly loved ones in wheelchairs through mud in freezing temperatures. Agh!!! Pray for them.
You are Not Alone
Look at this map. It's the last year. You are not alone. There are caregivers all the world over, and some in some pretty rough places right now. You may be hidden. You may feel like you are in your own world. You may feel lonely. But you are definitely not...
Verbal Processing – It’s Different!!!
So many people don't understand dementia and I have to remember I only understand because I've lived in the world of dementia almost a decade. But with dementia, the ability to verbally process is GREATLY diminished. You need to talk in calm, short sentences and...
Pusher Syndrome
The LBD journey is one of "syndromes" that you've never heard of. Syndromes such as Capgras syndrome, "falling-tree" syndrome, "show-time" syndrome, and so much more. Pusher syndrome is one of those. Pusher syndrome is defined differently by different...
Shut-In Together
With both my loved one's legs out of commission at this point, it means getting in and out of the car isn't happening. "Use a slide board" the uninitiated will say. But that requires a level of cognition and participation on the part of the person sliding. With the...
This Was Hard to Read But It Clarified My Thinking
Yesterday I saw a news article in the front page of our local news about a homeless man. He was an older gentleman and his story piqued my interest. He had once had a job, a house, a car and pretty much all that he needed. But then he had a stroke. It put him in a...
I Don’t Look Forward to It
I think of her death-yet-to-come every day. Not that I want to, it's just that it's a reality. I don't look forward to it.
Six Years Ago Today
Six years ago today my mom broke her hip for the first time. She had been having signs and symptoms of LBD for the previous 2 years, but getting a major surgery changed everything. The LBD exploded in addition to hip surgery, infection, problems with the hardware,...
A Messy Day
She is home now. If you were to say that you thought you changed your loved ones briefs more time than us, I would be hard pressed to believe you. It was a messy day almost every hour. But with a fresh broken hip (the other one broke a few years previous) and an...
The Other Hip Broke
A few years ago she shattered her one hip and 6 surgeries later, we were able to save the leg. Truly a miracle. It doesn't have strength to it but it is still there. Then this past weekend she fell and broke her other hip. Surgery went well but as anyone with LBD,...
