tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6988729.post112164203185649283..comments2024-03-27T11:42:47.601-04:00Comments on Another Monkey: Don't get oldD.B. Echohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797128570217627410noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6988729.post-1121953263844391682005-07-21T09:41:00.000-04:002005-07-21T09:41:00.000-04:00Harold, I could not reply to this yesterday when I...Harold, I could not reply to this yesterday when I read it as I did not know how to respond properly.<BR/>I still don't. <BR/>You and your family are to be commended for the wonderful care you give your Dad. I agree with Dee, get old surrounded by people who love you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6988729.post-1121734616091730472005-07-18T20:56:00.000-04:002005-07-18T20:56:00.000-04:00I think I've been way too opaque here.To put this ...I think I've been way too opaque here.<BR/><BR/>To put this post in context: I wrote it just a few minutes after coming back from visiting my father in the nursing home that he was relocated to last Wednesday. His Alzheimer's is galloping along at a much more furious pace than my grandmother's did. He is now on what I call a "10 second cycle": the period between the time that he asks you a question, makes a series of unrealated comments and inappropriate physical actions, and then asks you the question again - without remembering he had already asked it - is about 10 seconds.<BR/><BR/>He was someone you could tolerate when he was on a 45-minute cycle, maybe six months ago. A 20-minute cycle from three months or so ago was a little more irritating. A 3-minute cycle at the beginning of June was maddening, and a 45-second cycle was almost impossible to deal with. At a 10-second cycle, the staff at the nursing home is having a hard time coping with him. My mother and I could never handle him at this point.<BR/><BR/>And I still can't write about it directly. So I'll leave this buried in a comment for now.D.B. Echohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797128570217627410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6988729.post-1121704138698759192005-07-18T12:28:00.000-04:002005-07-18T12:28:00.000-04:00and don't get sick either, it's expensive.I watche...and don't get sick either, it's expensive.<BR/>I watched both grandmothers wither away with Alzheimer's, it is not a fun thing, both them seemed frustrated at times but it really takes it's toll on their loved ones, to see these beautiful strong woman forget what time it is, who is visiting, where they are is truly heartbreaking. it is a sadness that lingers evrytime you visit them and is still with me today. the feeling of helplessness you feel for someone you love is possibly the worst feeling. there is a show on FX called Rescue Me where one of the charector's wive's is clearly getting Alzheimer's it is rare that a show would tackle such a horrible subject especially from the point of view of a spouse.<BR/>Both of my grandfathers were dead by the time my grandmothers got it. It must be 100 times worse for spouses than annyone else in the family. Seeing that show brought all of those feelings of depression and helplessness I felt when I would visit them.<BR/><BR/>-dudeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6988729.post-1121649840148636372005-07-17T21:24:00.000-04:002005-07-17T21:24:00.000-04:00No -- get old surrounded by people who love you. ...No -- get old surrounded by people who love you. Unless she was in pain (and it doesn't sound like she was) your grandmother went on to whatever is next in the company of happy memories. All things considered, it's not a bad way to exit. <BR/><BR/>Unlike Certain Republican Senators, I won't assume that I know what was best for your grandmother. It's always hard to seem someone we love transformed by age and illness. And I'm certainly not a "choose life above all" advocate. But as long as our existence here doesn't cause us pain and it grants the ones who love a chance to demonstrate that love on a daily basis, life has meaning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com