Dair is obsessed with the location of our dogs. She panics if they are outside and is constantly bringing them into the house and closing the gate on our porch so they won't accidently get out. I try to remind her that they are indeed dogs and it is natural for them to want and need to go outside. She's not buying it.
It has gotten so bad that if I leave Dair alone at home for any time at all, she will close the dogs up in the master bedroom. I guess she doesn't want them to go missing on her watch.
Today after she put them in our room yet again, she left me a note, scrawled on a napkin and stuck on the doorknob, to let me know where they were. It read, "2 Bogs." Luckily, I understood the message.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Annie Oakley Lives
As summer nears, Dair is itching to go back to NC to live, and she brings up the topic frequently. Karl and I try to patiently and gently tell her that her mind is not as sharp as it once was and she is no longer able to care for herself. Of course, telling someone with dementia that they have that particular illness is futile, but what else can you do?
Recently we held the discussion yet again, and Dair got quite frustrated at the idea of not being able to go home for the summer. Finally she quit arguing and stomped off, threatening as she went to "get my gun and shoot things up." A few minutes later she returned and meekly said, "I don't know where my gun is."
Recently we held the discussion yet again, and Dair got quite frustrated at the idea of not being able to go home for the summer. Finally she quit arguing and stomped off, threatening as she went to "get my gun and shoot things up." A few minutes later she returned and meekly said, "I don't know where my gun is."
Hide and Seek
The thing about living with someone with dementia is that you are constantly playing a game of hide and seek. This is not usually a good thing. Like the time Dair placed a half eaten Rueben sandwich in her cookie jar and we didn't discover it for a day or so.
My extra good sense of smell has helped locate other hidden items, such as wet (with urine) adult undergarments. These have been found in a variety of places, including under the bathroom sink, in the bathtub, and hanging in the closet.
Stray Cheerios end up in houseplants and the dogs' bowls. The plastic bags that hold the daily newspaper can often be found crammed down into planters or in the bowl with the bananas.
This little game is now so routine that it didn't surprise me at all recently to open Dair's suitcase and find a cookie there amongst the wet Depends and the junk mail.
My extra good sense of smell has helped locate other hidden items, such as wet (with urine) adult undergarments. These have been found in a variety of places, including under the bathroom sink, in the bathtub, and hanging in the closet.
Stray Cheerios end up in houseplants and the dogs' bowls. The plastic bags that hold the daily newspaper can often be found crammed down into planters or in the bowl with the bananas.
This little game is now so routine that it didn't surprise me at all recently to open Dair's suitcase and find a cookie there amongst the wet Depends and the junk mail.
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