Although Kate generally sleeps well at night, she was awake for a couple of nights this past week. Night before last, I had gotten up about 1:00 to go to the bathroom. When I got back in bed, she said, “Who are you?” She didn’t sound frightened or upset. She merely wanted to know. I gave her my name and told her I was her husband. Then she asked her name. At first, I thought this might be one of those times she was anxious about not knowing where she was or who she was with, but it wasn’t that at all. She was quite calm.
This made me think about something I have thought about before but not mentioned in my blog. During the night, I am very careful not to put my arm around her while she is sleeping. Since I know that she is often confused when she wakes up, I have been afraid that she might be frightened if I did so. On the other hand, she isn’t always, or even usually, confused upon waking. In fact, she frequently moves right next to me during the night and puts her arm around me. Her intuitive ability apparently leads her to respond to me as naturally as she has before her Alzheimer’s.
During the night at our hotel on Saturday, something else occurred. I heard her say something and asked if I could help her. She said she I could and tried to explain what it was she needed. She was very concerned about whatever it was, but she couldn’t explain it to me. I was only able to determine that it involved a mutual friend of ours and that she needed to make a list. At first, she just referred to “him.” When I asked who that was, she gave her usual answer, “You know.” I feel sure she does this because she can’t remember. I mentioned several names but was never sure who she was talking about. Ultimately, we both drifted off to sleep. I’ll never know what she was talking about, but it was of great concern to her. It reminded me of several other times when she has had a dream and thought she needed to be someplace and was worried about being late.
