Cross Country Traveling
I knew I was nuts for attempting to travel across the country with someone with dementia. It was as good as I’d hoped and as devastating as I’d feared. We started off our trip by staying at a hotel close to the airport. It was easier for Jim’s grandchild to pick up the car …. Read More
The Final Countdown
Moving isn’t for the faint of heart. Selling your home is an exercise in insanity. Doing it with someone with dementia is most likely the most heartbreaking thing you’ll ever do. I thought I was prepared. Not Even Close Jim and I talked about moving before I bought our new home back in November. …. Read More
14 Sleeps
We’re getting down to the wire. 1 sleep until the cleaner comes in to do a deep clean of the kitchen and bathrooms 3 sleeps until the carpet cleaners arrive 5 sleeps until the staging people reorganize what’s left of our furniture to make the house look enticing 7 sleeps until our house is …. Read More
Overstimulation
Yesterday was ‘interesting’. I’m sure Jim could sense my excitement as I closed the purchase for the house back East. Happily, the plumbers for to water-main/supply leak under my lawn came a day early to distract him. He stood in the window all day and watched as they dug a 10 foot trench and …. Read More
Moving With Dementia
Anyone living with a person who has dementia, will eventually have to move them. Most of us can’t afford medical home care. Hopefully, it won’t be until the disease is far enough advanced that they will no longer be aware of their surroundings. Jim is half way there. We talked about the possibility of …. Read More
Disorientation For The Win
It’s been a rough couple of weeks. We’ve had constructions guys in to finish the ground floor. Initially it was to keep Jim from the stairs and also to prep the house to get it ready to sell. It’s been a long painful process, made worse by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant …. Read More
Christmas Heralds The Things To Come
Christmas came to pass, over and over again this year. Jim woke up and did his usual routine of going downstairs to use the exercise bike and use the weights while I turned on the coffee and prepped our morning pills and vitamins. Once he was settled, I asked him if he wanted to …. Read More
Caregiver Mental Health
This one is about me. I’ve been soldiering on, smiling and caring, feeling like a fraud whenever I receive encouragement and praise because, really what else am I supposed to do. I’m not going to leave Jim because his health is declining. Overall, I feel like I’m handling everything so well, I don’t deserve …. Read More
Anxiety Degrades Recall
Yesterday was one of those days. I loaded the winter tires into the car to have them put on and the car wouldn’t start. Happily, our neighbour was outside and had booster cables. We got the car going and I was off to the dealership. The tire and oil change should have taken between and …. Read More
Wanderlust
Over the past few days. Jim has been wandering through the house more than usual. He used to get up in the morning and then doze at the table while he read, and then re-read the newspaper. Then he’d nap in front of the TV most of the afternoon. Now, he’s restless. He stands …. Read More