It's been a while since the last post. Things have been hectic. Emma seems to be doing pretty good. She is still sad, but does not cry as much. She's been very busy and active with Cindy. They went to go see Nina, the grief counselor yesterday. Today they're off to the senior center for a movie. I know Emma is feeling better because she is cruising around without her walker (or her "scooter" as Peyton calls it). She is getting feisty and wants to take her dirty dishes into the kitchen herself. I know it's an excuse to rummage around for more food.
Becky has lost her mind and decided to have Emma come spend the weekend at her house this weekend! We are very grateful to get a break. It will be good for us but also good for Emma to get out and about and enjoy some new surroundings. The plan is for Fabi to help pack up her things and Cindy will take Emma over to Becky's. Then on Monday, we can have Cindy bring Emma back in the afternoon.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
More items for Mom's Christmas List
Thought I would quickly throw in another item for Emma's Christmas list. She needs long sleeved shirts!!! Fuzzy, thick, warm stuff. She can probably fit into XL or 1X. She keeps trying to turn up the heat and I have started telling her that it is too expensive to keep the heat up so high. She needs to dress warmer. Shuffling around the house with a skirt and no socks would make me freeze too! Maybe even some stretchy warm, fleecy pants in 1x. We tried on a pair of XL fleece pants last night and they were a no go. She has lost weight, but like I told her.....the last place we lose weight is in our rump! Some items like the above would help keep her warmer. Think of it as a "green" effort so we can keep the heater at a reasonable level! :-)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Pre Christmas Panic
Things have been chugging along in the Sias household. The kids and I have been sick with a cold but hopefully we keep them away from Emma enough so that she won't get it too.
Emma has been doing good. She doesn't seem to be crying as much as she was a few weeks ago. She still has her moments but all in all, maybe a little teeny weeny bit less. She seems to be sleeping restlessly. She has gotten up a few times in the night and sometimes early in the morning. Even before me at 5:30! Becky suggested that perhaps she is getting immune to her sleeping pills. Not that we want to be drugging her up, but we really like to keep her on a schedule. So when she is up in the night, she is tired during the day and sleeps late or takes naps which then make it hard for her to go to bed at a decent hour which then perpetuates the schedule problem. She does complain about ringing in her ear from time to time. Something we should mention to the doctor next time she goes in. It is important for her to stay on a schedule not only for her, but for us to effectively manage her day to day routine. What she has been doing this week is spending more time in the bathroom.
I haven't made much progress on the 36 hour day book. But I have learned a few things that make it easier for me to understand what is going on with her and therefore helps me help her. She does my not intentionally get ornery or difficult or forgetful. Part of the dementia is that the signals in the brain don't go where they are supposed to anymore. That is why sometimes they forget simple thing like brushing their teeth. Maybe she forgets she is in the bathroom for as long as she is. Maybe her brain signals are getting crossed when she is supposed to stop going to the bathroom. Maybe when she is done, the brain message isn't getting through. I don't know. But it gave me some suggestions on how to help and it seems to work. It just takes a little time. It even said that the brain signals for physical movement can break down. So if the brain says to move your leg, the message may not get there. So the dementia could have some to do with her mobility issues. It also said that the worst thing you can do is get angry at them. They can't help what they are doing. Getting angry just makes them feel bad and can cause the ornery attitude. Anyway....I will flag some of the interesting stuff so anyone can come over and read the flags without actually having to read the whole book.
Now on to some suggestions of things Emma could use if you guys are buying her some gifts. She could use some socks. She still complains about being cold. We will work to put away all summer clothes so that she only has sweater and warmer options but since she likes to wear skirts (easier to get on and off in the bathroom) she might as well have something warm on her feet. So knee high socks in black/brown. And even some warm fuzzy socks for when she is just sitting around the house. She could also use an electric lap blanket and even an electric blanket for the bed. If you would like to get her some new sweaters she wears 1X or she may even be down to a XL now. She loves to read and has been reading that book...Dancing in My Nightgown (maybe that book is helping her cope).
That's it for now. Must go pick up Peyton!
Emma has been doing good. She doesn't seem to be crying as much as she was a few weeks ago. She still has her moments but all in all, maybe a little teeny weeny bit less. She seems to be sleeping restlessly. She has gotten up a few times in the night and sometimes early in the morning. Even before me at 5:30! Becky suggested that perhaps she is getting immune to her sleeping pills. Not that we want to be drugging her up, but we really like to keep her on a schedule. So when she is up in the night, she is tired during the day and sleeps late or takes naps which then make it hard for her to go to bed at a decent hour which then perpetuates the schedule problem. She does complain about ringing in her ear from time to time. Something we should mention to the doctor next time she goes in. It is important for her to stay on a schedule not only for her, but for us to effectively manage her day to day routine. What she has been doing this week is spending more time in the bathroom.
I haven't made much progress on the 36 hour day book. But I have learned a few things that make it easier for me to understand what is going on with her and therefore helps me help her. She does my not intentionally get ornery or difficult or forgetful. Part of the dementia is that the signals in the brain don't go where they are supposed to anymore. That is why sometimes they forget simple thing like brushing their teeth. Maybe she forgets she is in the bathroom for as long as she is. Maybe her brain signals are getting crossed when she is supposed to stop going to the bathroom. Maybe when she is done, the brain message isn't getting through. I don't know. But it gave me some suggestions on how to help and it seems to work. It just takes a little time. It even said that the brain signals for physical movement can break down. So if the brain says to move your leg, the message may not get there. So the dementia could have some to do with her mobility issues. It also said that the worst thing you can do is get angry at them. They can't help what they are doing. Getting angry just makes them feel bad and can cause the ornery attitude. Anyway....I will flag some of the interesting stuff so anyone can come over and read the flags without actually having to read the whole book.
Now on to some suggestions of things Emma could use if you guys are buying her some gifts. She could use some socks. She still complains about being cold. We will work to put away all summer clothes so that she only has sweater and warmer options but since she likes to wear skirts (easier to get on and off in the bathroom) she might as well have something warm on her feet. So knee high socks in black/brown. And even some warm fuzzy socks for when she is just sitting around the house. She could also use an electric lap blanket and even an electric blanket for the bed. If you would like to get her some new sweaters she wears 1X or she may even be down to a XL now. She loves to read and has been reading that book...Dancing in My Nightgown (maybe that book is helping her cope).
That's it for now. Must go pick up Peyton!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Post
Well....we did it. We pulled of Thanksgiving. I was amazed at how much work goes into getting ready. All of the food was awesome and thanks so much to everyone for making it wonderful feast! I think my parents were just amazed at the whole thing! The kids had a blast and were exhausted!
Emma is doing really well tonight! She was even chatting with me about Simon tonight while we were getting her ready for bed and not breaking down crying. She usually boohoohoos in the bathroom before bedtime for a while but I think she didn't cry at all. Having everyone here seems like it did her some good.
So...while we're gone....please feel free to call us if you have any questions. Try to remind her to get up and go the the restroom at least every three hours. If she sits longer than that, she sometimes leaks. Not to mention she is very stiff when she tries to get up.
Please also remember that she is diabetic. Yes...she takes medicine but that doesn't give her a free ride with sweets and carbs. We don't cut carbs out all together, but we certainly give them to her in moderation.
Her bedtime has been about 10. If you get her in the bathroom around 8:30, she's out by about 9:30 or 10. When she comes out, you need to encourage her to get ready for bed. She will resist and tell you she is not tired. But stick with it. Tell her she doesn't have to go to sleep but that she needs to get her pajamas on and get into bed. She will want to sleep in her chair, but her feet do so much better when she sleeps in the bed. Tell her that Trish the therapist wants her in bed and then change the subject. Plus, it is good exercise for her to get in and out of bed.
Her pills are all loaded up. Remember.....She has morning pills, dinner pills and bedtime pills. Please put them in a little cup and make sure she takes them from the cup. When she puts them in her hand, she often drops them. That is bad because she doesn't get her meds and we worry that the kids might find them and eat them off of the floor. Also watch that she does not poor her drink into the pill cup. It makes a mess of the pills! Sometimes you need to stand over her and make sure she takes them and doesn't pour water into them.
And last but not least....come visit Emma while we're gone and eat some left overs!!! There is still a bunch of food left over. There is pie in the fridge in the garage. So eat up!!!
Emma is doing really well tonight! She was even chatting with me about Simon tonight while we were getting her ready for bed and not breaking down crying. She usually boohoohoos in the bathroom before bedtime for a while but I think she didn't cry at all. Having everyone here seems like it did her some good.
So...while we're gone....please feel free to call us if you have any questions. Try to remind her to get up and go the the restroom at least every three hours. If she sits longer than that, she sometimes leaks. Not to mention she is very stiff when she tries to get up.
Please also remember that she is diabetic. Yes...she takes medicine but that doesn't give her a free ride with sweets and carbs. We don't cut carbs out all together, but we certainly give them to her in moderation.
Her bedtime has been about 10. If you get her in the bathroom around 8:30, she's out by about 9:30 or 10. When she comes out, you need to encourage her to get ready for bed. She will resist and tell you she is not tired. But stick with it. Tell her she doesn't have to go to sleep but that she needs to get her pajamas on and get into bed. She will want to sleep in her chair, but her feet do so much better when she sleeps in the bed. Tell her that Trish the therapist wants her in bed and then change the subject. Plus, it is good exercise for her to get in and out of bed.
Her pills are all loaded up. Remember.....She has morning pills, dinner pills and bedtime pills. Please put them in a little cup and make sure she takes them from the cup. When she puts them in her hand, she often drops them. That is bad because she doesn't get her meds and we worry that the kids might find them and eat them off of the floor. Also watch that she does not poor her drink into the pill cup. It makes a mess of the pills! Sometimes you need to stand over her and make sure she takes them and doesn't pour water into them.
And last but not least....come visit Emma while we're gone and eat some left overs!!! There is still a bunch of food left over. There is pie in the fridge in the garage. So eat up!!!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Just Before Thanksgiving
I hope everyone is well and getting excited for Thanksgiving. I know you are all probably headed into this holiday season with mixed emotions. I know it's going to be different this year but I am excited nonetheless! One of the many benefits of living at the house is the family gatherings. And now I get to have them where I live!!!!
The book 36 Hour Day came in and I have started it. Lots to read but I'm looking for tips on how to productively keep Emma on track. I'm sure you all know how stubborn she can be. Between Vic and I, we do pretty good getting her rounded up, but sometimes it seems unfair when we team up on her. So if there are better ways to convince her to get ready for bed, I'll hopefully find them in the book! I am also curious about the short term memory loss. She remembers SO much from so long ago. That is all etched deep into her memory. But it's the short term things that concern me. Nick gave her a very pretty scarf for her birthday. Several hours later I commented on how nice it was and she told me that RoseMary had given it to her. So I politely corrected her and then another hour later she made another comment (I think to Nick!) that RoseMary had given her the scarf. So that makes me wonder about her overall sense of time. More on that as I discover it.
I also want to let you all know that I made all of the siblings authors to this blog. So now you guys can add to the blog. Things you learn, think, feel...whatever. I'm not sure how many of you are reading this but hopefully it's helping keep everyone in touch with Emma. If it goes well, then perhaps we can open the postings up to grandchildren too. Nick had such a nice visit with her a week ago. It would be nice if he could share his insight. They took a pictorial trip to Italy. Emma really seemed to enjoy it. I took a trip down memory lane last night too. I wanted to show Peyton our wedding dvd. One of the sections is of the guys getting ready. It was so strange to see Simon. Right there! Like it was just yesterday. It still doesn't feel like he is gone. Probably because he isn't really gone. Just his body from this earth. But his spirit lives on. Anyway....it was good to see him. I let Emma watch too. She was sad and I asked her if it was ok to keep showing it. I told her I would turn it off it it was too sad. But she said she wanted it on. She commented that her hair looked nice!
Ok...I need to get back to work. See you all Thursday!!! Keep your eyes open for an email about coverage while we are in Disneyland.
The book 36 Hour Day came in and I have started it. Lots to read but I'm looking for tips on how to productively keep Emma on track. I'm sure you all know how stubborn she can be. Between Vic and I, we do pretty good getting her rounded up, but sometimes it seems unfair when we team up on her. So if there are better ways to convince her to get ready for bed, I'll hopefully find them in the book! I am also curious about the short term memory loss. She remembers SO much from so long ago. That is all etched deep into her memory. But it's the short term things that concern me. Nick gave her a very pretty scarf for her birthday. Several hours later I commented on how nice it was and she told me that RoseMary had given it to her. So I politely corrected her and then another hour later she made another comment (I think to Nick!) that RoseMary had given her the scarf. So that makes me wonder about her overall sense of time. More on that as I discover it.
I also want to let you all know that I made all of the siblings authors to this blog. So now you guys can add to the blog. Things you learn, think, feel...whatever. I'm not sure how many of you are reading this but hopefully it's helping keep everyone in touch with Emma. If it goes well, then perhaps we can open the postings up to grandchildren too. Nick had such a nice visit with her a week ago. It would be nice if he could share his insight. They took a pictorial trip to Italy. Emma really seemed to enjoy it. I took a trip down memory lane last night too. I wanted to show Peyton our wedding dvd. One of the sections is of the guys getting ready. It was so strange to see Simon. Right there! Like it was just yesterday. It still doesn't feel like he is gone. Probably because he isn't really gone. Just his body from this earth. But his spirit lives on. Anyway....it was good to see him. I let Emma watch too. She was sad and I asked her if it was ok to keep showing it. I told her I would turn it off it it was too sad. But she said she wanted it on. She commented that her hair looked nice!
Ok...I need to get back to work. See you all Thursday!!! Keep your eyes open for an email about coverage while we are in Disneyland.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
More Updates from the Airport
Just a quick note before I head off for Vegas to attend the CDW Partner Summit. We had a nice weekend. Saturday we had chorizo and eggs for Emma's birthday. /RoseMary, Fred, Marisa, and the usual suspects from the compound. Yvonne stopped by with the kids and Nick spent some time with Emma on Sunday showing her pictures from his Italy trip. Pictures that were believed to have been lost but Gloria managed to find them.
Emma seems to dislike going to bed at night. We try to get her going early because it takes a while in the bathroom and so she can be up early to enjoy the day but she seems to be pushing it later and later. She said it is lonely in her room. I can totally understand that. But I have to say that a month ago when I would help her in bed, she could hardly get herself up there. But the other night, she seemed to be better able to mover herself into position. It just reinforces the fact that moving around is good for her. And that we can't make everything super easy for her for convenience. She doesn't like to move around so much but if you don't use it...you lose it! :-) We still have not been able to get her out. I hope to wheel her down to the park and/or Los Charros one of these days.
This Thursday we are going to the grief counselor. That should be good for everyone. I'm looking forward to an informative session and for more ideas on how to support Emma.
She has had a couple of peepee slips this week. So if we can all pitch in and help remind her to go to the bathroom, that would be great. Maybe she needs to go more often. Maybe if she goes more often, she won't spend so much time in there. My mom suggested we tell her doctor because she said that diabetes meds can sometimes make you have a weak bladder. So aside from the fact that she has had SEVEN kids, maybe there is some other medicine that can counteract the side effect of the diabetic meds to help incontinence. Just a thought.
Becky is working on getting more supplies from the medical store. We are also looking into nighttime underwear. It seems there are more accidents when she is laying down.
Emma seems to dislike going to bed at night. We try to get her going early because it takes a while in the bathroom and so she can be up early to enjoy the day but she seems to be pushing it later and later. She said it is lonely in her room. I can totally understand that. But I have to say that a month ago when I would help her in bed, she could hardly get herself up there. But the other night, she seemed to be better able to mover herself into position. It just reinforces the fact that moving around is good for her. And that we can't make everything super easy for her for convenience. She doesn't like to move around so much but if you don't use it...you lose it! :-) We still have not been able to get her out. I hope to wheel her down to the park and/or Los Charros one of these days.
This Thursday we are going to the grief counselor. That should be good for everyone. I'm looking forward to an informative session and for more ideas on how to support Emma.
She has had a couple of peepee slips this week. So if we can all pitch in and help remind her to go to the bathroom, that would be great. Maybe she needs to go more often. Maybe if she goes more often, she won't spend so much time in there. My mom suggested we tell her doctor because she said that diabetes meds can sometimes make you have a weak bladder. So aside from the fact that she has had SEVEN kids, maybe there is some other medicine that can counteract the side effect of the diabetic meds to help incontinence. Just a thought.
Becky is working on getting more supplies from the medical store. We are also looking into nighttime underwear. It seems there are more accidents when she is laying down.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Airport Blogging
As hard as we tried, we just couldn't get Emma to join us at the Spagthetti Factory for Nick's birthday dinner last night. But Ric DID get her down the the Grief Counseling center and Emma met with a grief counselor. I will let Ric comment more but the gist I got was that Emma is about where she needs to be. Considering her dimentia and the number of year she was happily married, she's sad. Nothing unusual about that. Ric has recommended that we all check out a book called 36 Hour. I just ordered it used off of Amazon. I'll leave it at the house if anyone wants to check it out.
Ric also mentioned that the grief counselor would be happy to meet with Emma and her children (and maybe me too since I'm living with her). She doesn't usually work in the evenings, but to accomdate everyone's schedule, she said she would be willing to do an early evening appt on a Thursday. Next Thursday the 20th is a possibility and Ric is going to check to see if we could try for Tuesday the 25. So RoseMary, Lydia, Robert, Ric, Gloria, Becky and Victor...check your calendars. :-)
As you all know, her birthday is Thursday. Gloria has an email out looking for ideas on what to do. I am in Chicago on Thursday but would love it if we could have folks over on Saturday or Sunday. Again, Emma could use some nice cozy pajama gowns in size 1x. Lydia also mentioned that she could use some new log sleeved tops/sweaters in a 1x. It's probably time to sort through her closet and pack away some summer clothes and make the winter cothes easier to access if anyone is so inclined.
Ric also mentioned that the grief counselor would be happy to meet with Emma and her children (and maybe me too since I'm living with her). She doesn't usually work in the evenings, but to accomdate everyone's schedule, she said she would be willing to do an early evening appt on a Thursday. Next Thursday the 20th is a possibility and Ric is going to check to see if we could try for Tuesday the 25. So RoseMary, Lydia, Robert, Ric, Gloria, Becky and Victor...check your calendars. :-)
As you all know, her birthday is Thursday. Gloria has an email out looking for ideas on what to do. I am in Chicago on Thursday but would love it if we could have folks over on Saturday or Sunday. Again, Emma could use some nice cozy pajama gowns in size 1x. Lydia also mentioned that she could use some new log sleeved tops/sweaters in a 1x. It's probably time to sort through her closet and pack away some summer clothes and make the winter cothes easier to access if anyone is so inclined.
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