My Life With Jim

  My life with Jim is coming to an end. I have such a mixed bag of emotions. Sorrow, of course. He’s still Jim. Until today, he was still throwing out one-liners, making people around him laugh. Today, I think, the pain was becoming too much for jokes and the drugs made him too foggy. ….  Read More

I learned something surprising a few days before Jim’s geriatric assessment and the doctor confirmed the information. Benadryl  can have ill effects on dementia symptoms and potentially increase the risk of developing it. Benadryl can make you drowsy, and may cause someone with dementia to sleep more often. But, for someone like me with an ….  Read More

  The past two days have been awful. Jim has regressed back to where he was  just after moved here. Academically, I knew this could happen but I don’t think anyone can truly be prepared for such a large set-back/regression/memory fail. Acerbated by his desire to leave, and go back to where it’s familiar, even ….  Read More

  When I chose this house, I was worried Jim wouldn’t like it. The inside is great, it’s an open plan without hallways or doorways for him to get lost in… but the outside is woodsy. Perhaps a little worrisome for a fellow who has never lived outside the city center. Happily, he’s amused by ….  Read More

  Just as we embarked on our second week in our new home, Jim’s oldest came to stay with us for a visit. We’d hoped their stay would help Jim to settle in his new surroundings. For the most part it did. He stopped asking when we’d  be leaving and usually seems to understand this ….  Read More

  The first week is done and I’m happy to say it hasn’t been as traumatic for us as I feared. He likes the open concept of the house. It’s much easier for him to navigate when he can easily see most of the space. He hasn’t ventured outside much. It’s colder here than out ….  Read More

  We’ve finally started finishing our ground floor. The construction crew arrived this morning to create a supply list and figure out where to put the shower… turns out, once I cleared away all the boxes stored in the room, there was a drain already installed (eliminating the need to drill into our foundation to ….  Read More

  Every once in a while something happens that forcibly reminds you how far your loved one has declined. This week it was Christmas cards. It surprised me because he knew Christmas was coming and that we had to get cards (and money to put in them for his grandkids). He was obsessed until I ….  Read More

  What a relief!! I spoke with the doctor about the prognosis from the blood pressure readings from Jim’s feet. As a lay person with enough knowledge to understand what I was seeing (as the technician did the scans) but without the training to properly interpret, I was terrified about what he was going to ….  Read More

  I leave certain tasks for  Jim so he will have something to do during the day. Things like empty the dishwasher etc. It also gives me an idea of where his mind is at, i.e. did he put things in the right spot or load the dishwasher in a crazy way. Yesterday, I found ….  Read More