Mom has been dealing with her cognitive changes roughly the same since they began– some things she has figured out how to deal with via her new brain in better, more coherent ways, but in general she has a way of doing them more or less that started when her brain took the hit a… Continue reading December 10, 2016: Wonderings about wanderings
Category: 6. Facebook Moments 2016
Over the time since Donna returned home I have often mused on what I was going through, positively and negatively so. Here’s some snapshots of these posts, with a more recent reflection on what was happening then, with the addition of time spent together since. By the time of these entries, Donna had been living with me for over a year. These posts cover 2016.
October 31, 2016: 2 years since Mom came home…
I have barely the ability to even recollect on the year 2016. My brother died, this home was almost killed off, my own state was beyond miserable and thoughts of the future were bleak. But the innocent eyes of both Mom and the cats looking back at me continued to keep me going, as did/does… Continue reading October 31, 2016: 2 years since Mom came home…
September 23, 2016: Mom comes home from a respite stay
I desperately need the breaks I manage to go on, but there are down sides. I generally don’t let mom stay at respites for more than 10 days, if she is there longer when she comes back I see serious, obvious decline (as simple as she was getting used to having things she didn’t need… Continue reading September 23, 2016: Mom comes home from a respite stay
September 12, 2016: Mom gets back to the Skagit– where she belongs.
Mom is the reason I am so utterly lost without getting away from the city, some of my earliest memories are of her, dad and I camping. My first actual memory in my consciousness is inside the RV. One of her favourite places has been part of her life since the 50’s, changing in meaning… Continue reading September 12, 2016: Mom gets back to the Skagit– where she belongs.
September 7, 2016: A common misconception about dementia
I have been trying to find different ways to express this for more than a couple of years at this point. What a person with dementia can communicate with you is not representative of what they know. What they can recall on command has no relation to how much knowledge is actually there. Perhaps for… Continue reading September 7, 2016: A common misconception about dementia
September 5, 2016: Mom attends BC Fed labour day.
I still often underestimate how much of a difference getting out into the real world– even when it is likely to involve a place that is “busy” and involves slowing down less. In this case, the weather was okay, the outdoor events was very good and the sensation of happily enjoying others company and being… Continue reading September 5, 2016: Mom attends BC Fed labour day.
July 18, 2016: Reflections on a simple, pleasant morning
I am happy to write now, nearly two years later, that days like this are continuously possible and give both of us reinvigoration. Knowing one another and having routine makes a tremendous difference.
June 26, 2016: Trusting in the situation
This process of deepening trust has continued along, and is in many ways the gasoline in my tank. Her deference to me as the one who gets things done– as opposed to being completely against the very concept– means the world. It is her contribution, really.
June 10, 2016: Saying good-bye to Gordie Howe
Mom has always been a hockey fan, and she still has emotional attachment to the players she grew up with perhaps most of all. None of them, not even Jean Beliveau, could match Mr Hockey (and she grew up an Armstrong-led Leaf fan).
June 6, 2016: An overwhelmingly difficult week
This is one that is hard for me to re-read, I could re-immerse myself very quickly in the feelings of self-doubt, etc brought on by too many horrible convergences in the same week. Sometimes it helps to get overly philosophical, and this was one of those rants. I can see myself processing through the paragraphs.… Continue reading June 6, 2016: An overwhelmingly difficult week