Posted on

Another First and, Hopefully, the Last

I had just gotten up and was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard Kate scream. I was close, so I got there in a flash. She had gotten out of bed and fallen between a chair and the bedside table. She was frightened and hadn’t yet tried to get up. I first checked to make sure she wasn’t injured. She didn’t have any cuts or scratches. I asked if she was hurting. She wasn’t.

Having decided she was all right physically, I helped her into a sitting position before considering the best way to get her up. My first thought was to lift her from behind with my arms under her shoulders. The moment I put my arms in place, she yelled at me to stop. I had another idea. She was sitting by a chair, and I thought I might be able to get her on her knees with her arms in the seat of the chair and then help her up. She wasn’t able to understand or follow my instructions. That led me to think of getting her on her hands and knees. Then I might be able to lift her. She couldn’t understand that either even though I demonstrated several times.

I tried to lift her. She was frightened and wouldn’t cooperate with me. I have known others who faced this situation. They had called the fire department for help. I called 911 and explained the situation. I specifically mentioned the fire department, but the person I spoke with said they had to call EMS. I told her that was fine, but there was no need for a siren.

In less than five minutes, the doorbell rang. It turned out the EMS crew was in the neighborhood when they got the call. I briefed the young woman, Heather, and man, Kevin, on Kate’s Alzheimer’s. I explained that she can’t follow explanations and that she appeared to have suffered no physical injuries. In took almost no time for them to get her up and back in bed. Kevin got behind her with his arms under her shoulders while Heather positioned Kate’s legs. She responded the way she did when I tried; however, he moved more quickly than I did. She was on her feet in no time.

They asked her if she was all right. She said she was. Then she looked over and saw me. She apparently did not remember that I had been there at all. She immediately looked relieved and reached out to hug me. Kevin helped her into bed. She looked up at the two of them standing by the bed and expressed her appreciation. That was a few minutes before 8:00. She is still in bed at 11:30. All is well.

Posted on

Another Good Day with the New Sitter

In a previous update about Cindy, Kate’s new sitter, I mentioned how happy I was about the way she and Kate have connected. While it may be too early to think this is a perfect relationship, I continue to be impressed. They had another good day on Wednesday.

When Cindy arrived, Kate was delighted to see her. That made me feel good. I didn’t leave right away. When I did, Kate gave me a sad look and said, “Your leaving?” I explained that I had some errands to run and that Cindy would be with her. Cindy immediately engaged her in conversation, and I slipped away.

When I returned, the two of them were seated on the sofa looking at one of her photo books. Kate asked me to join them, and I did. After a few minutes, Cindy said she had to take care of dinner for her husband. Kate seemed just as disappointed to see her leave as she had been when I left earlier. She reached out her arms and gave Cindy a hug and said, “Will you be coming back?” She was pleased to know that she will be.

Cindy has quickly become a bright spot in our lives. When talking with Kate, I have referred to all of the sitters as your “friend” rather than “sitter” or “caregiver.” Cindy, however, is the first to come close to being one. I couldn’t be happier. Kate has needed this kind of relationship from the beginning.

The icing on the cake is my recent use of a friend who can fill in occasionally. She will help me out tomorrow and Monday, two days when our regulars are unavailable. As I may have said before, we are in better shape than ever in terms of in-home care. That’s good because there are many other things to which I need to attend.

Posted on

Living with Unpredictability: Part 1

Living with COVID-19 has brought about significant changes for everyone, and they keep coming. Kate and I are no exception; however, I am especially mindful that Kate’s Alzheimer’s is also undergoing changes that have upset the very nice routine we have had for years. I’m a person who likes consistency but “Living with Alzheimer’s” means increasing unpredictability. Her sleeping “pattern” is a good example.

Before Kate’s diagnosis, we tended to follow a regular schedule each day of the week although it changed periodically with other changes in our lives. That has been true true since the diagnosis as well.

Until about two years ago, her daily schedule meshed rather well with mine. I got up around 6:00. That gave me time to have breakfast, take my morning walk, and take care of email and household chores. She got up between 8:00 and 9:30. That is when we started going to Panera almost every morning and the café in Barnes & Noble in the afternoon. Add eating out for lunch and dinner, and we had a full day. Then we enjoyed a little time for relaxation at home before going to bed.

The first big change came about when she started sleeping later in the morning. We began to skip Panera and go straight to lunch. At the same time, she started resting shortly, sometimes immediately, after returning home from lunch. The consequence was that we also stopped going to Barnes & Noble in the afternoon. We still ate out for dinner, so our schedule continued to maintain a significant amount of stimulation for both of us. In addition, when she wasn’t resting at home, she worked jigsaw puzzles on her iPad. That kept her occupied and her brain focused on a pleasurable task.

We began to move away from this routine early this year when she twice remained in bed until well past lunch. The pandemic brought about more change. Eating out came to an abrupt halt, and Kate lost the ability to work her puzzles on the iPad. The result was a drastic reduction in outside stimulation. It has been especially tough for Kate. That, in turn, has required more of my time to keep her entertained. Despite my efforts, our lives have become more sedentary.

Kate adjusted by resting more than she did previously. That may be what is behind the variability in the time she awakes in the morning. Of course, it is also possible that it relates more directly to changes in the brain as a outgrowth of Alzheimer’s.

At first, I suspected that her staying in bed so long related to fear or anxiety related to her confusion upon waking or to frightful delusions. On at least two occasions, I have said, “You look frightened. Are you?” In those instances, she said she was but didn’t know the cause.

More recently, she hasn’t appeared to be frightened, simply tired. That was true two times last week. The first time I was successful in getting her up. The second time, I was not, at least until after 1:30. I first tried to wake her at 11:00. She woke up and seemed in good humor; however, when I suggested that she get up for lunch, she balked. I let her rest another twenty minutes and tried again. Still no luck. I tried two other times and finally gave up.

I had planned for us to go out for lunch but shifted gears and had lunch delivered to the house. At 1:30, I tried again, this time with success. The only problem I had was that she didn’t recognize me as her husband. Usually that doesn’t make a difference. This time she wasn’t as comfortable with my help in the bathroom or in helping her dress. She ate her lunch. Then she had a hair appointment.

As in the past, she sometimes gets up early. Last Friday, that was 6:25. This occurs frequently enough that I am keeping more breakfast food for her. Although her early starts interrupt my daily routine, I adjust easily to that. I enjoy the time with her. In addition, I know she will want to rest before lunch. That gives me a chance to take my morning walk. Not only that, but she normally wakes in time for us to have lunch on those days we have a sitter.

What is next? I’m not sure. Although the unpredictability of her getting up represents a significant change in our life style, it is far from being a serious problem. I know we will have bigger adjustments in the future. I expect that she may eventually sleep for extended periods during the day. I don’t look forward to that. I would rather live with the current unpredictability.

Posted on

Sundowning?

One of the common symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is sundowning or sundowner’s syndrome. Until this week, I haven’t noticed this with Kate. The classic signs usually involve confusion and anxiety that occurs around sunset or early evening. She’s experienced a lot of confusion and some anxiety, but it has not been typically associated with the evening. In fact, afternoons and evenings have been the most predictably good parts of her day.

Kate’s behavior the past two nights leads me to suspect sundowning might be entering our lives. Thursday she was awake earlier than usual, around 8:30 as I recall. We had enough time for her to have breakfast and rest an hour or so before going for lunch around 11:30.

The balance of the day went well. She rested some, and we looked through one of her photo books. We had an early and pleasant dinner at Casa Bella. The pleasantry evaporated when we pulled into the garage at home. When I opened her door, she looked frightened and refused to get out of the car. She told me to get in.

I complied, and we chatted for a few minutes. She thought there were people in our house and wanted to avoid seeing them. I mentioned that it was our house, and we hadn’t invited anyone. We chatted a few minutes. Then she said, “Well, what do you want to do?” I said, “I think we should go inside and get ready for bed.” She said, “Okay,” and we went inside.

Everything was fine until near the time that I got in bed. She was frightened again and mentioned something about “them.” That is not unique. She frequently believes there are others in the house or on the way. I went in another direction and said, “Why don’t I come to bed now. I’d like to read something to you.” I got The Velveteen Rabbit and hopped into bed with her.

I’ve been reading the book to her for several months now, and she has never given me any sign that she recognizes it or has ever read it before. Her immediate response varies. Sometimes she is reluctant to go along with my suggestion that we read it. Other times, she seems to like the idea. In those cases, I get the feeling she just wants the comfort of our engaging in an activity together. That’s the way it was that night.

She didn’t make her normal audible responses to specific passages that catch her attention, but she did begin to relax. By the time we reached the end of the book, she was at ease. I thanked her for letting me read to her and told her I loved her. She said, “Me, too.” I turned out the light, and we were off to sleep.

Yesterday, she was wide awake when I got out of bed. She said wanted to get up. I suggested that she let me get up first and dress and then help her. She agreed. I thought she would be asleep by that time, but she surprised me. I got her up at 6:50, and fixed her breakfast. We had a good time. She was talkative and always enjoys her cheese toast. When she finished, she wanted more and enjoyed it just as much.

After breakfast, we went to the family room and looked at one of her family photo books until she wanted to rest. That was about 9:00. I had a Zoom meeting with my Men’s Coffee Club at 9:30. We were through at 11:00. I thought that would give us plenty of time to have lunch before I had another Zoom meeting with a United Way committee.

That idea went by the wayside when I discovered that Kate had gotten up from her rest just before I finished with my men’s group. She was looking around the house. When I mentioned lunch, she wasn’t interested. I decided to have lunch delivered. Before it arrived, she was resting again. Time was also running close to my noon meeting. I decided to eat after the meeting.

That turned out to be a good idea. Kate was ready to eat when the meeting ended. We were about to sit down when Mary, our Friday sitter, arrived. She had picked up a lunch for herself, and the three of us ate together. I have found that my departure is much smoother when I don’t have to leave immediately after the sitter gets here. That worked especially well yesterday. Kate was talkative, but it was difficult to understand what she was saying. When I returned, they were having a good time looking at one of Kate’s photo books. Mary said they had talked and looked at books the whole time I was gone.

We picked up a takeout meal for dinner. Before leaving, Kate wanted to go home. I told her we could pick up our dinner and take it home to eat. We enjoyed our meal, and I thought we would be off to the bedroom to get ready for the night. Kate had other ideas. She wanted me to take her to her home, not mine. On the way home, she repeated that she wanted me to take her to “her” home. I felt the need to prepare her that it was my home. I told her it was late and that it was best that she stay at my home and that I could take her to her home “in the morning.” She said the clothes she would need that night were at her home. I told her I had clothes for her. She said, “Well, I’d better call my mother.” A moment later, she said, “She’s not going to like this.” I assured her it would be all right. She was hesitant, but she agreed.

Once inside, she was still uneasy, but she let me help her in the bathroom and getting dressed. I put on some music that I thought she would like and helped her into bed. Then I took my shower. When I got out, I think she was asleep. I know that she didn’t say anything until I got in bed. Then it was just a soft chuckle. She sometimes does this to acknowledge that she is awake. On the other hand, it could have been that she was having a dream.

Was this a case of sundowning? I don’t know. She does seem to have had more delusions in the past few days. I have another thought. Following the guidance of Kate’s doctor, I have gradually eliminated her Aricept  (donepezil). She took the last tablet on Tuesday. Is this a symptom of withdrawal? Again, I don’t know. It could be that the experiences of the past two nights are not sundowning or signs of withdrawal. It could also be just another stage in the progression of her Alzheimer’s.

No matter how much a caregiver knows, one never knows it all. But that doesn’t keep us from trying. I think I’ll go back to her Aricept  tonight and follow the same withdrawal schedule we have for the past two weeks.

Posted on

Tender Moments

I have a Twitter friend whose wife has early onset Alzheimer’s. She is in memory care, and it is only recently that they have been able to get together. The other day he posted a video of the two of them as he read Love You Forever. As he read, she leaned over and kissed him (through her mask, of course). His tweet said, “Special moments are not always captured but this one was.”

This struck a chord with me because Kate and I have so many moments like this that go unrecorded. Sometimes I try to describe them, but my descriptions never fully convey the feelings of those moments. The past few days they seem to have been more frequent than usual.

Two days ago, I posted a tweet about one of those moments that occurred at lunch on Sunday. Only two other tables were occupied in a restaurant that seats over 200. While enjoying the quiet and comfort of having the restaurant almost all to ourselves, Kate said, “I want you to know how much I appreciate all that you do for me.” I said, “I do it because I love you.” She said, “I love you too. <pause> Who are you?” It was a very tender moment that some might have taken as sad, but it was a special time for both of us.

We had a similar, but longer, experience the next morning. Kate woke up early. I was only twenty minutes into my morning walk (inside the house for those of you who are new to this site). When I got to her bedside, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her mind seemed to be a complete blank. She said, “What am I doing here?” I said, “This is your home. This is where you live.” It didn’t take long to tell that she didn’t know me and that she was in a deeper fog than usual; however, she wasn’t frightened as she is sometimes. She was just confused about where she was, who she was, and who I was.

I told her we had been friends in college and that I could help her. That didn’t totally reassure her, but I was able to take her to the bathroom without her having any reservations. Once there, she didn’t know what to do. I explained that she should take off her underwear and sit on the toilet. She was still a bit unsure of me and didn’t feel comfortable doing that. I was, however, able to get her to brush her teeth. She began to feel somewhat more at ease with me, and I took her back to the bedroom to get her dressed. She was a little hesitant to let me help but consented. Throughout the process she seemed to get more comfortable. Several times she asked who I was. I gave her my name and repeated that we had met in college and been together ever since.

I took her to the kitchen where I poured her a glass of apple juice, and she took her morning medicine without a problem. I also turned on a Barbra Streisand album and selected songs that I know she especially likes. She commented on how much she liked the apple juice. She seemed pretty much normal though she continued to periodically ask who I was.

I fixed her some cheese toast. She liked it and wanted more. The music was still playing when she finished eating. Streisand and Neil Diamond were singing “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore.” Kate had closed her eyes and was engrossed in the music. She even mouthed some of the words.

When the song ended, she opened her eyes. Something across the table caught her eye. She said, “This is a nice room.” (Most of the time, she doesn’t know she is in her own home and admires it as though she is visiting a friend’s house or staying in some type of commercial lodging.)

I said, “Beautiful things. Beautiful music. <pause> And beautiful feelings.” She looked at me, nodded, and repeated, “Beautiful feelings.” Then she extended her left hand to me. I put my right hand on hers. She put her right hand on mine, and I followed with my left hand on hers. We sat there quietly for 5-10 minutes without saying a word, just listening to the music.

Kate still had several small pieces of cheese toast on her plate. She asked if I could fix more and that we could share. I did. The music ended, and I put on another album that we have always liked. Then we sat quietly enjoying cheese toast and the music for another twenty minutes or so before adjourning to the family room. Before getting up, she said, “I feel better.” I said, “I do too.”

Did she know who I was? I don’t know. I doubt it. What is important is that we had shared a special moment together. As Kate’s care partner, I’ve read a good bit about caregiving. I’ve learned a lot though never enough. A number of things have seemed especially significant to me. One is the importance of living in the moment. Another is mindfulness. I think this particular experience is a good example of both. I try to take advantage of moments like this and am “mindful” of how much each of us cares for the other and that there is a limit on our time together.

The day began with a rocky start, but in a rather short period of time evolved to that tender moment. It wasn’t that I had done anything of great significance. That wasn’t necessary. I just helped her get ready for the day, served her a breakfast she enjoyed, played music I know she likes, and gave her time to feel at ease with me.

Posted on

Issues with In-Home Care

It was almost exactly two years ago that I first engaged sitters for Kate. Except for a handful of exceptions, the schedule has remained the same – four hours a day Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon. We’ve been fortunate to have few changes among the sitters themselves. One of them has been with us the entire time except for the first week or two. That has been especially helpful since, until recently, she came two afternoons a week. We’ve had three or four sitters for Monday, but two of them were with us less than a month. I believe the continuity has been beneficial for Kate.

The past few months have been different. We lost our Monday sitter the first of June. Fortunately, the person who replaced her was a woman who had been with us forty weeks during our first year and quit to take care of her own health issues. I was glad to have her back.

Then our Wednesday/Friday sitter gave up her Wednesdays. She has been in great demand by the agency. That has been especially true during the pandemic. She was moving into a new house with her mother. She needed a break, and I understood. It turned out the Monday sitter was able to take the Wednesday slot. That has worked well.

After that, I had my own mini-crisis with respect to my blood pressure that was no doubt related to the increasing stress of caring for Kate. That led me to make a few changes. One of those was to add a sitter for Thursday. At first, it looked like that might be a problem. When I talked with the agency, I learned that they have been impacted by the pandemic. They don’t have as many people who are willing to accept assignments, and it is more difficult to recruit new ones. As it turned out, they were to arrange for our Monday/Wednesday sitter to add Thursday as well.

Over the weekend, the agency called to say that she had injured her back and would not be able to come on Monday. They called back that morning and told me they could not locate anyone else who could. Unfortunately, that was my day for Rotary, so I missed that.

It was also a day when I had a 2:00 appointment with my ophthalmologist. That meant I would have to take Kate or find someone else to stay with her. At first, I thought I might take her with me. I have done that on other occasions; however, she is bothered by wearing a mask. It is a challenge for me to get her to wear one from our car to a restaurant. Knowing that we might be there over an hour, I preferred to leave her home.

That prompted me to call someone we had met through our music nights at Casa Bella. Last fall, she started a business providing services to seniors. I know someone who uses her as a driver, but she does a wide variety of other things. I put in a call to her. She was available and came to my rescue.

I know that Kate didn’t remember her, but she must have seemed familiar. We sat together many times over the past five years. At any rate, they got along well, and Kate didn’t object when I left. She was resting when I got home two hours later, but according to my friend, things had gone well. I am glad I called her. She is an appealing person in whom I have confidence. If I encounter another situation like this, I won’t hesitate to call her.

The question now is “Will the sitter who injured her back be able to return soon?” I have no idea nor does the agency. Yesterday afternoon, I received another call from the agency saying they had been unable to locate anyone for today or tomorrow and are working on a replacement for next Monday. In the meantime, I placed a call to my friend who is available if the agency is unsuccessful. I have a dental appointment a week from today and told the agency about it. I plan to call my friend today to see if she could be a backup for that day as well.

Suddenly, my rather stable in-home care arrangement is no longer stable.

Posted on

An Experience I Couldn’t Handle

This morning I ran into a problem with Kate that had me stymied. She had just sat up after a short rest. I sat down beside her with the intent of looking at one of her photo books. It turned out that she believed she had to be someplace about that time. She said she was supposed to meet a group of women at her house. I didn’t think much of it because I am usually able to distract her so that she forgets whatever she has imagined.

This time was different. She thought she was running late and had promised “people” she would be there. Knowing that she didn’t have any obligations, I told her I didn’t think her meeting was today but tomorrow. If she accepted that, I was confident the whole issue would have been forgotten; however, she was sure that she was right. It was about time for lunch, so I suggested we order a takeout lunch and then I would take her to her house. She was fine with that and off we went.

On the way, she forgot that we were going to pick up our lunch. She became increasingly worried about being late. I assured her we would go directly to her home after getting our lunch. When we arrived, she didn’t recognize our house as hers. I mentioned that she might be thinking of her house in Fort Worth. She was adamant that I was wrong. I said, “I do remember that you have a meeting tomorrow, but I didn’t know about the one today.” She remained sure that it was today.

I told her we had lived in the present house for twenty-three years but that we had lived in two other houses in Knoxville before that and suggested she might be thinking of one of those. I added that other people were living in both of those.

She was almost in tears as we ate our lunch. She told me that she didn’t know what to do. I told her I wanted to help her but was in the same boat. I didn’t know what to do. Then she surprised me by saying, “It’s not your fault. You are trying to help me.”

Again, she asked if I would take her home. It was only thirty minutes before the sitter was to come, and I hesitated leaving but told her I would take her. I drove her by each of our previous homes. Fortunately, one was just around the corner and the other only two miles away. She didn’t recognize either one as her home.

She began to calm down as we drove. By the time we returned home, she was fine. The sitter arrived shortly thereafter. When we saw her, I said, “Look who’s here. It’s Mary.” Kate beamed and greeted her. They began chatting, and I got my things together and went to my office. She had suffered for almost two hours, but the crisis was over. I think the only thing I did that was helpful was to convey my desire to help her. None of my specific efforts to solve her problem was successful.

Posted on

Feeling Needy and Appreciative

I am sure I am not alone among caregivers in wondering how Kate perceives her own situation. I make my own interpretations based on what she says and does, but I would really like to know what she thinks and knows. One thing I do know is that she recognizes that something is wrong with her, and it often bothers her. As on other occasions, she made that very clear yesterday.

It was a day when she appeared unusually needy. All day long, she seemed to want to be with me, holding my hand and asking me what she should do about everything. It is not unusual for her to be dependent. It was simply a day of her feeling especially needy. Except for being uneasy when walking, she didn’t appear to be particularly disturbed. Even when I left her with the sitter, she seemed to accept my departure although she was disappointed and said, “Don’t stay too long.”

At dinner, she expressed her appreciation of my care for her. We were holding hands across the table. She said, “I can’t live without you.” With a concerned look on her face, she said, “I don’t know how I would get along if something happened to you.” It was a moment when I believe our thoughts were in sync. It was one of our tender moments when we convey as much or more to each other through our non-verbal expressions as the words themselves. That isn’t everything I would like to know from her, but it is very powerful. It reinforces my commitment to give her the best care I can.

Posted on

The Sleep Issue Continues.

Yesterday was almost a rerun of Saturday though this time I was more successful in getting Kate up. There was another difference. On Saturday, she seemed to be all right. Yesterday she was disturbed and unable or unwilling to help me understand what was bothering her.

Around 11:00, I put on a Julie Andrews album of music from Broadway.  That didn’t have any impact although I may not have given it as much time as I should have, less than fifteen minutes. The end result was that she didn’t want to get up. Because she was disturbed, I shifted gears and brought in The Velveteen Rabbit. That calmed her, but she went back to sleep before I finished.

In the meantime, I received a call from the agency that provides our sitters. The sitter was running late. That meant I would be late to my Rotary meeting. I thought about cancelling but decided to be late to the meeting. The minute I hung up I felt that I made the wrong decision and called them back. Given Kate’s situation, I thought it would be better if I skipped the meeting altogether and see if I might get her up a little later.

I ordered lunch to be delivered by Panera. I let Kate rest while I ate lunch. Then I tried getting her up again about 12:30. She wasn’t interested. I decided she should at least have a little juice and one of her morning meds that has an uncomfortable side effect if it is skipped. She drank a little juice, but she refused her pill. She was quite angry. I knew then that getting her up was a lost cause for a while.

I returned to the bedroom about twenty minutes later with (you guessed it) The Velveteen Rabbit. I also took a couple of her photo books in case TVR let me down. She didn’t want me to read to her, but I told her I would like to read it myself (out loud, of course). She didn’t protest, but she closed her eyes and didn’t express any audible interest until after I was mid-way in the book. Then she began to make audible expressions that fit with what was happening in the story. That was a good sign. I forged ahead with some optimism.

She opened her eyes and kept them open through the end of the book. I said, “Thank you for letting me read that. It’s a nice story.” She nodded her agreement. I was developing some confidence, but I didn’t want to abruptly suggest she get up for lunch. I held back. Instead, I told her it was also nice to be able to share the story with her and went on to say that she was very special to me and how much I like our being together. I said, “I hope you feel the same way.” That enabled us to have a brief conversation about our feelings for each other. After a few minutes, I was able to get her up and dressed.

When we got to the family room, she stopped to look at some of the poinsettias that are thriving but now have mostly green leaves. Then she wanted to rest. She rested about thirty minutes before I asked if she would like something to eat. We spent the next hour at the kitchen table chatting while she ate. We followed that with one of our tours of the dining room and living room. She wanted to rest again and took her place on the sofa until it was time for dinner.

The rest of the day went well. We had a pleasant afternoon and evening. She was tired when she got in bed but didn’t go to sleep right away. She didn’t, however, encounter any uneasiness. She just rested while I played YouTube music videos for her. There was no need for TVR. I think she went to sleep soon after I got in bed. I know I did.

Posted on

A Day of Sleep

Saturday was a day that Kate slept/rested until almost 3:30. It was in the early spring of this year that she first stayed in bed so late. Since then, there have been 3-4 other days like that. She didn’t get out of bed until 5:15 one of those days. In addition, there have 5-10 days in which I thought she wasn’t going to get up, but I was successful in coaxing her.

On some of those occasions, she was scared of something she couldn’t identify while she seemed all right the other times. She just didn’t want to get up. Saturday was like the latter. In fact, she surprised me. When I tried to get her up around 11:00, she was awake and greeted me warmly. I told her I was glad to see her and wanted to take her to lunch. She smiled. She told me that sounded nice.

The problem occurred when I told her I had her clothes out and would help her up. She said, “In a little bit.” That didn’t sound good. When she says that, she doesn’t usually follow through. I told her I would let her rest a little longer and came back in fifteen minutes. It was clearer that she wasn’t going to get up. I tried several times over the next hour and a half and then gave up.

Close to 3:30, I returned to try again. She was awake and in a good mood. I had no problem getting her up, showered, and dressed. I had already decided we would have an early dinner, so I didn’t get her lunch. I gave her some juice and blueberries. Then we enjoyed our time together looking at her photo books.

She hasn’t been as interested in the YouTube music videos, so I tried something different  after returning home from dinner. It was early enough that I decided to put on a DVD of Sound of Music. She has responded to movies for a long time, but I thought it was worth a chance, especially because of the music. She lay flat on the bed with her eyes closed most of the time. She didn’t appear to be watching or paying attention, but she remained awake until the end. At one point, I asked if she was still watching and was prepared to turn it off. She wanted to continue. She went to sleep without a problem after that.

She apparently got enough sleep. The next morning she was up before 7:00.