Before going to bed, I noticed that Kate was decorating the house for Christmas. I had doubted this was going to happen. Earlier in the week, perhaps the week before, she had gotten out a few things and put them on the sofa in the family room. They hadn’t moved since being placed there. When I went to the kitchen this morning, I noticed that the table was set with Christmas placemats and plates. This is a bright spot for me in that she hasn’t completely let go of things like this.
Saying the Wrong Thing
This morning I washed my clothes and took them out of the dryer about 10 minutes before I had to leave for Sunday school. I folded and put away my underwear and socks but left the rest (not very much) on our bed. I almost always wash my things separate from Kate’s because so often she has gotten my clothes and worn them. This is an easy way to retrieve them. That has been a special problem with my socks and t-shirts. She wears the t-shirts when she is working in the yard, and they get so dirty that they don’t come clean during washing. Being something of a “Neatnik,” I don’t like to wear them to the Y. Before I started doing my own washing, I had to buy extra t-shirts, but that didn’t help. Invariably she would get them. I now have only a few shirts that I can wear to the Y.
When I got back from church, I noticed that she had folded several pair of socks and underwear that I had missed before leaving. This afternoon as I was watching football, she worked in the yard. Kevin called, and I went out to the yard to get Kate. I noticed that she was wearing one of the two of the t-shirts that had been in the wash. When I got off the phone with Kevin, I looked in my closet where I keep them and found that she had not put the other nicer t-shirt in there. About 15 minutes ago, I went out to check on her. I mentioned that I had noticed that she was wearing my shirt. She immediately reacted with sorrow. I told her it was all right. I just wanted to make sure that I got the other shirt. She was so hurt that I didn’t follow up on it. This is the kind of thing I try to prevent from happening. I don’t want to hurt her. On the other hand, I do want my shirt. I think I will try buying new shirts and just work hard to wash them and put them up before she can see them.
8:50 pm
About an hour later, I was getting my clothes ready for tomorrow and noticed that I needed to get that t-shirt back from Kate. Then I went to get out my socks and noticed that the three pair of socks that had been in the wash were nowhere to be found. I went to Kate to ask. Once again she had a mild emotional reaction as though she were going into a panic attack. She had no idea where they were and didn’t recall having seen them. I looked on her bed in her office and found them. I found the t-shirt on the bed in the large guest room. I will continue to try not to put her in this position, but I fear these things will only increase.
More Imagining
Kate just walked into the kitchen and thanked me. I asked what she was thanking me for. She said that I had suggested that she edit black and white photos by converting them into color photos which gave her the ability to control saturation much better than if they were simply black and white. After she edits, she converts them back to black and white, and they look much better. The only thing is that I never made a suggestion that she do this. I told her she should give herself credit. She acknowledged that but said she would never have done it without my suggestion (which I never gave).
Coordination Difficulties
We have nothing on our agenda today until we go to Casa Bella this evening for their Christmas dinner. After going on my walk, I asked Kate if she would like me to take her somewhere like Panera, Starbucks, or Barnes & Noble. She said she wanted to go to Lowe’s sometime. About 15 minutes ago she came into the kitchen and said she wanted to go to Lowe’s. When we got in the car, she said, “”On the way back, I want you to take me somewhere to get a muffin or something to eat.” I told her we could go to Panera now but thought she hadn’t wanted to go. I told her I would like to do that. She liked the idea only she was dressed in her sweats for yard work. I suggested a change. I came in the kitchen to write this post. In a few minutes she came in with a pair of shoes in her hands and said those were the only shoes she could find. I told her she hadn’t changed clothes. She said, “Oh.” Then she turned around to go to her room to change. This coupled with my sense that she has been unusually lethargic over the past few days seems another warning sign of impending changes.
Being Tired
Two days ago my post suggested a change for the worse in Kate’s condition. I hesitated to say that because the difference had been so minor, but in the last 24 hours I have noticed a difference in her that may confirm my original suspicions. Yesterday morning I came from the office to take her to lunch before going to Rotary. When I returned around 2:00, she was in bed. That is not something unusual except that she remained there until about 4:30. When she got up, I suggested that we go to Chalupas for dinner and reminded her that we were supposed to go to the December meeting of the music club. She looked disappointed. I told her she didn’t need to go. She accepted. She went into the family room and sat with her computer. It was not open. She just sat there. She looked very sad. I went in and sat with her on the love seat. I asked if I could do anything to help. She said, “You’re doing it.” We sat there in silence except for a few comments that I made. During this time all I could imagine was that she was discouraged about her Alzheimer’s and being bored. At one point, I reiterated that I wanted to help her but that she didn’t seem to want to talk about it. She said, “About what?” I told her that she seemed depressed. She said, “I don’t feel depressed at all. I am just tired.” I told her I felt better knowing that. We then left for Chalupas. She seemed to get along as she usually does. She was not talkative, and she seemed tired. She is often this way when she is hungry. All this seems like something that is different. She is more tired than usual.
When we got home, I showered and dressed for the music club. She got into bed. When I left, she was in bed and said that she was going to sleep. When I got home at 10:30, she was sound asleep.
This morning she was up at 6:00 and went back to bed. That much is normal. She just got up again and seems tired. Libby is coming today, and I have a lunch meeting at 11:30. I asked if she would like to go to Panera. She said she would. That was 30 minutes ago, and she just got up. I had told her there was no hurry. We’ll see how it goes today. We have a symphony concert tonight. She didn’t go last time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t go tonight.
Some Changes
I was just about to write a post that would say that a number of things have happened over the past few days that make me think Kate is making a shift downward. The first sign is that she has seemed depressed and not as upbeat. The other is confusion which I have mentioned in an earlier post today.
Just before I started I heard her call me. She wanted me to come to her office. When I got there, she said she wanted me to see her closet. Her bed had no clothing on it, nor was there any on the floor. Her closet looked beautifully organized. She thanked me. When I asked why she was thanking me, that I hadn’t done a thing. She said, “You bought me the hangers.” For over a year she has periodically asked me for more wooden hangers. Each time we have gone by Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Each time I think this is the end. Then a while later she says she wants more. I am surprised she attributed her success to me. This is something she has done on her own. She said, “I feel so much better. I can’t tell you how much better I feel.” I reinforced how much better her room looked and that I know she must feel better. This is not the first time she has cleaned up, but it never lasts too long. I am wondering if in her depression of the past few days, she hasn’t directed her attention to cleaning up which made her feel better. Whatever it is, I am grateful. It makes her feel a lot better. It makes me feel better as well.
Confusion
Quite a few times I have mentioned Kate’s Deja vu experiences that are almost a daily occurrence. I believe I have also mentioned that she sometimes imagines I have said or done things, for example, thinking that I had told her we were going somewhere when I had not. Just before going to lunch she said something that makes me wonder if this is a pattern that will continue to escalate. This is not the kind of thing I was expecting. Here is what happened.
Several days ago, I went to the backyard where she was working in the flower bed against our wall. I didn’t see a panel of grill work from her parents’ home that we had put in the flower bed. When I said something about it, she didn’t know what happened. Then she said she remembered that, Ronnie, a woman who has helped her with her landscaping had taken it to be painted. I thought that seemed strange since to the best of my knowledge, the Ronnie doesn’t have anything to do with painting. Then today when I went out to the yard to tell her it was time for lunch, she told me she knew where the grill work was and took me to the spot where it had been standing. Whatever had been holding it upright had broken, and it was lying on the ground mostly covered up by leaves. Apparently it was completely covered the other day when I missed it. After she came in to take a shower and get ready for lunch, I was in the bedroom watching a football game when she called to me and said something like, “Richard, I need to tell you something. I guess you will find out soon enough.” I asked her to tell me about it. She told me that Ronnie had brought the grill work back and would set it back up in the flower bed. She seemed especially concerned that I might be upset about her not telling me. While we were at lunch I asked why she seemed upset about it. She told me it was because she was supposed to have told me before and hadn’t done it. I also asked what Ronnie was to have done with the grill work. She said, “I guess paint it.” I told her I didn’t think she had painted it because I could see that it still needed painting. She accepted that and appeared not to recognize any inconsistency between what she had told me before and now.
Taking Medications
I have the responsibility of putting Kate’s medications in her pill box every week. I also assume responsibility for checking behind her to see that she actually takes them. Yesterday I slipped, and she missed both her morning and evening medications. This is not critical except for Venlafaxine which she takes every morning. In the past I have found that if 48 hours pass since her last dose of Venlafaxine, she suffers from an unsettled stomach.
When I discovered that she had not had her Venlafaxine yesterday, I knew that she needed it right away and that if she didn’t get it by noon she might have the effects of an unsettled stomach. It turns out that this started shortly after I gave her the morning medications including Venlafaxine. I went to the Y and also to have coffee with a friend. When I got home to take her to the bank where she was to sign some papers, I discovered that the stomach problems had occurred even though she had had her Venlafaxine. We went ahead to the bank, but she did not feel well and didn’t want to stop for lunch. We headed home. Once home, she still did not feel like eating; so I went to get a bite. When I returned home, she was feeling all right. I asked her if she wanted me to take her to get something to eat. She said that she didn’t, that she would just get something here. She is now up and dressed. She walked into the kitchen where I am typing this post and said she was ready to get something to eat. That means we are off. We’ll probably return home, before leaving for her eye doctor’s appointment at 3:00 p.m.
The Role of Humor
After being so depressed last night, Kate was herself this morning at least until it was time for us to get a bite to eat before our haircuts at 11:00. Here’s what happened. About 9:45 I went back to her office where she was working on her laptop. I told her we would need to leave in 30 minutes if we wanted to get something to eat before our haircuts. She indicated that would not be a problem. In the meantime, I went back to my computer. After 15 minutes, I went back to let her know that we had 15 minutes. Before I could say anything, she said somewhat angrily, “What do you want? You can see I’m getting ready.” Seeing that she was well on her way to being ready, I let her alone and didn’t say anything more. At 10:15 she called to me and asked, “Where are you?” She was all ready to go. Knowing that she would wait for me while I was getting my haircut, I asked if she wanted to take her iPad. She said, “And my computer too.” I could see that she didn’t have her computer; so I assumed that I needed to get it for her. Since she had been using it in her office, I went there to get it. I didn’t find it. In the meantime, I discovered that she was looking for it as well. I told her I had seen her using it in the office but didn’t see it there. We both started looking in different rooms of the house. Then she asked where her iPad was. I told her it was probably in the bedroom, but I had no luck there. Then I asked her, “You wouldn’t have taken both of them and put them in the car, would you?” Before she could answer, I went to the car to check. They were in the front seat of the car. She acted quite relieved to know they were found; however, she had already gotten pretty worked up and couldn’t immediately calm down. This was not a full-blown panic attack but her heart appeared to be racing and she was breathing more heavily than normal.
We went to Panera. On the way over I asked, “Are you back to normal now?” (This is something that occurs somewhat frequently. I ask the question, and she tells me if she is or isn’t.) She told me, “Not yet.” I sense that this routine exchange seems to facilitate her calming down IF I don’t I appear to be pushing her but simply being sympathetic. I told her I thought she would be perfectly calm by the time I brought her food to her. That didn’t happen. She told me (in a nice way) that she still wasn’t back to normal. About half way through her sandwich, she said, “I’m all right now.” We both smiled and went on with our lunch.
I dropped her off to get her haircut while I went back home to take care of a few things and to stop by Walgreens to pick up a prescription. When she finished, I took my place to have my hair shampooed. In a few minutes she approached me and indicated she wanted to get a Dr. Pepper out of the car. I gave her my key with some hesitation and gave her instructions as to where I had parked. Kate left. I felt uneasy, and Dawn said she would follow her to the car. I told her what my car looked like and where it was parked. She came back in a few minutes and said that Kate had immediately turned left as she walked out of the shop instead of going straight as I had told her. Then she couldn’t find the car, but Dawn helped her.
When I had finished, we both went to the car. I asked her for the car key. She didn’t have it. I went back in the shop and found that she had put it on the bench beside the spot where she had been sitting. When I came back with the key, she was quite relieved. She was about to panic again. She joked abut my having to put up with so much from her that sometime I was going to lose my patience and just shoot her. I smiled at her and said, “It’s not going to happen.” We both laughed. I said, “At least we can keep our humor.”
A Low Moment
Kate and I are in our bedroom right now. She had been working on her computer this afternoon and suffered some frustration as she tried to do some things. I know that one of them was trying to find her mother’s recipe for cheese grits. It appeared that she was blaming herself because she could not find it on the computer. I did a search and could not bring it up. To me that is an indication that it is not on the computer. It’s not Kate’s fault.
After this she ran into something else but didn’t want to talk about it. I asked if I could help in some way. She said no. She looked as though she were miserable which makes me want to do something to help. I offered several options. She wasn’t interested in anything. I suggested that we go back to the bedroom when she said she was sleepy. I told her we could turn on some episodes of Dick van Dyke. She agreed unenthusiastically to accept that offer. When I turned on the TV, CNN was reporting on a new shooting in San Bernardino, CA, in which 14 people were killed and another 14 injured. She wanted to leave the TV on the news which I did. It continues now, and Kate is under the covers resting with her eyes closed though not asleep (I assume).
