| Evelyn Ruut 2005-09-24, 12:37 pm |
| "Songbird" <carolinasongbird@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:cIzXe.1772$3S3.1382@bignews4.bellsouth.net...
>
> "Evelyn Ruut" <mama-lionsox@hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:xEvXe.13379$x43.2744393@twister.nyc.rr.com...
>
> I agree, Evelyn. It was too nuts and bolts, especially for someone dealing
> with early stages. I'm not ready to deal with incontinence issues and
> where to buy adult diapers yet; I'm still trying to figure out why she
> forgot that I called her 15 minutes ago and why she can't work the kitchen
> faucet.
>
> Mary is good at explaining the internal reasoning that goes on for the Alz
> (patient? sufferer? victim? with the current refugee/evacuee/survivor
> controversy, I'm paying attention to semantics).
>
> If you look back over the posts here, some are of a practical nature
> (where do I buy a doormat alarm? how do I execute a POA?) but most are of
> the "She's driving me crazy! WHY does she DO that?" variety. How many
> times have you (meaning all of us) had to explain to someone that they
> can't learn new skills with certainty, they can't process and remember,
> they don't mean to be ugly (usually!) but they're scared, etc., etc., etc.
>
> A friend of mine who had Alz (who has now thankfully gone to his eternal
> and well-deserved reward) said it's like traveling to a strange country
> where they speak a language you never heard before. The money is
> meaningless (he would hold out a handful of coins to a clerk for them to
> select, like you might in a foreign country), the customs seem strange,
> and sometimes the words make no sense. I found this a very helpful
> analogy.
>
> Songbird
Hi Songbird,
Every stage has its unique challenges, it is true. I couldn't envision Ida
ever getting to the incontinent, nearly non-verbal stage, and even though
she did become incontinent, she still could make some sense verbally, and
knew who we both were, almost to the end.
So there is always an element of individuality to every person's journey.
We have heard of people here, only just diagnosed who progressed at an
incredible rate, and others who didn't change much over a long time. What
happens to one, may not happen exactly that way to another.
You mention the money thing. I recall how horrified my husband was to see
careful, frugal Ida, with a handful of loose $100 bills in the drugstore,
picking up a prescription. She lived in a bad neighborhood and had a
handbag stolen once already. He was SO afraid she would be seen, followed,
and maybe even heaven forbid, mugged. Fortunately that never happened and
we were able to take her here with us to keep her safe shortly thereafter.
But it reminded me of that when you mentioned the man who held out the
handful of loose change, unable to distinguish one amount from another
anymore.
--
Best Regards,
Evelyn
(to reply to me personally, remove 'sox')
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