(c)copyright Penny Klein, Nov. 27, 1998. July 31 2006
This is my first entry in my first public journal about caring for my mother. I doubt I will be writing every day as things won't change that quickly. There are related issues that I might write about but I am not sure how often.
Mom was diagnosed with a mixed dementia in 1996. That means she has both Alzheimer's Disease and a vascular dementia. Mom had high blood pressure most of her life, a major risk factor for strokes and the tiny o nes called transient ischemic attacks(TIAs). Her MRI did show she had them and where they occurred.
In 1996 which was before the approval of Aricept, her mini mental score was 19/30. This was in Nov. In Jan 1997, as soon as Aricept reached the shelves mom started taking it. Six months later, she was tested again and her score jumped to 23/30 where it remains today, Nov. 27, 1998.
I do not know how long it will last, so every day with mom is special to me. I work week days so I am with her evenings, weekends and holidays. I think it averages out to 30-35hrs per week. I do try to get breaks, see friends, do things alone, etc. I also feel the need to do things with mom that she can still enjoy such as old movie musicals or performing arts videos.
Some people measure their loved ones(LOs)progression through dementia with the Reisberg Scale but mom doesn't fit those stages. She does remind me of a nine year old. There are many things they can do at that age, but you wouldn't leave them all alone. Unfortunetly, she has very little short term memory which makes her a little worse off than a nine year old.
Mom has medicaid and a home health aide 6 days a week when she is not in day care. She also has my father for company but they cannot be in the same room for more than 5minutes without sniping at each other.
Today is a Friday, that means it is bath night and time to remove her pessary. After dinner mom sits with me in my room for 30min or an hour and then she has to bathe. I admit that she wont' do it without a bribe, that is where chocolate comes in. We are both chocoholics so it is her primary motivation for getting in the tub. It hasn't worked for more than once a week, but both the literature and her doctor have said that once a week is satisfactory.
Mom also needs a special touch in order to get her to brush her teeth. When I am at home, we brush our teeth at the same time. When my father tells her to brush it always comes out gruff or rude or nasty, so mom refuses and an argument ensues. She also can fool my father into thinking she had brushed her teeth or so she told me and hence the mother daughter toothbrushing. She does not argue or refuse to brush with me. We also brush for the full TWO(2) minutes that dentists say is necessary.
Clique january99, for the next entry.
clique Hannukah98, for that year's holiday.february99, march99, Hannukah99, Summertime99
Hannukah2001, april99.html
January2002,
Autumn2002 update,HanukahMiracle2004Mom's first year on Memantine Shabbat2004
Celebration of Mom
EndGame
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(c)copyright Penny Klein, Nov. 27, 1998. July 31 2006
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