HOW A UTI (URINARY TRACT INFECTION) CAN WREAK HAVOC WITH AN ALREADY COMPROMISED BRAIN

Who would have know that a simple infection like a urinary tract infection could wreak havoc with an already compromised brain!
We have just been through an utter whirlwind of events........about 10 days ago, Mike started to talk incessantly to himself.  At first it was just babble in the background all day and then he became very anxious and distressed, to where us as family members and caregivers, started to reach breaking point.  He hardly slept and kept us awake at night talking non-stop.  I never knew how tiring it could be to listen to someone talk all day without a break!
Last Thursday was breaking point and I called a doctor friend of mine, who suggested I give him 2 sleeping tablets, to give him and us a decent nights sleep.  She said they should last up to 12 hours..............well............they lasted about 4 hours and then he was at it again, incessant talking.
The next day, I knew I had to do something and so I contacted the retirement village within walking distance from our house to see if they could take him for a month, just to give us all a break.  It is hellish expensive, but his wonderful step-mom said she would help pay for it as well as my sister who said she would also cover a month down the line.  This all sounded like a fabulous idea....a break....what did that mean??!!

FOR MY DAD, FROM YOUR DAUGHTER

    HEXAGON

  You are shaped to pure
                                                               
  perfection
                                                       
  In your abstract purity

  At every corner you represent

  a breakage from the scene

  That life so purposely forces
  onto you

   For you are not as simple as a

   Circle

   And a triangle, far too lean

   Communication, union,
   balance, you have lost so
   effortlessly

   You epitomize the inability to
   be simple

   You strike out at every corner

   Yet, in a triumph to not wander
   too far

   You return

   And,

   with it

   complete a whole

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY!

My husband turned 60 on Friday!  I organized a small gathering for him.  He was very reluctant about this, but actually landed up enjoying it!!!

WE SURVIVED THE MALL AND A NIGHT AWAY!!

Well, we survived out trip to the mall and actually the most stressful thing was our two boys scrapping at each other - ha ha!  We managed so much better in his new car and he seemed a lot more content than usual.  Once or twice he was a bit confused and wondered where he was.  I was worried about the apartment we were spending the night in, as we had to contend with 2 flights of stairs, but we managed that as well!  This morning was an early riser as we had to be up by 5:15 am to get our youngest son off to boarding school, but my husband was an absolute champ!  The wheelchair was a huge help.  It is one we are renting from the Red Cross but it is rather primitive.  So...we are looking into buying a new one which will make his Alfa even more fancy!

TAKING ON A NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Whether it's an Alfa Romeo, Cadillac or BMW, who cares!!!  Besides soccer and music, he absolutely loved cars and loved driving them.  It devastated him when he could no longer drive and he has talked a lot over the last 2 years about his cars.  Yesterday I believe we hit the jackpot! I told him that I was going to rent him a wheelchair, so that we could take him on walks and wheel him around the malls.  He was dead against the idea but I went and got it anyway.  I took him for his first walk in it yesterday, just about killed myself in the process, as we live in a very hilly suburb........what a workout! He absolutely loved it and last night had such a grin on his face, he thought he had been driving his Alfa!!!!  Today I took him to the beach and he loved that even more.  This has opened up a whole new lease on life for him, especially as he thinks he is driving again.  On Sunday we are braving the mall and a night away and will take his new car for another ride.

WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

I cannot believe it has been almost a year since since I wrote about my husband's illness!!!  The last time I wrote, he was able to climb stairs, walk up the road with my son and our dog Lucy and feed himself.  A lot has changed........he is now very frightened of stairs and we do not take him upstairs unless we are having a family gathering but even this is a mission, as large gatherings are just too much for him now. His mobility has worsened and the walking has come to a minimum, although we do try to take him a couple times a week up the road, but that is all he can manage.  We now take his meals to him and I cut the food up into small pieces and feed him.  He still enjoys his food and I try to cook all the things that he loves.  Once a week I take him out for pizza, but we go very early so that the restaurant is still quiet. No more grocery shopping with him, as the stimulation is far too much. We have also started to bath him in a lower bath, as the bath in my bathroom is now too high for him to lift his legs over.  We now also use a jug for him to urinate into as it was very difficult for him to aim with his spatial issues.........one has to see some humour at times!!   My special needs son plays a huge part in his care and it has also given him a purpose, although, us carers tend to take a thrashing from time to time.  He still sits in the sunroom and listens to music and the tv, although I don't think he actually focuses on the tv, it is more background noise. He has become obsessed with his clothes and thinks that people have taken them.  I try to take him to his cupboard and let him touch his clothes and this seems to help for a short while until it starts all over again.

It is hard to take him away for a night or weekend as it has proved to be very disrupting for him and we are in the process of getting extra help for him, in order to be able to take a break and get away for a night or weekend if need be.

But despite this all, he seems content for most of the time, although can have angry outbursts, but I think I would too if I was restricted in this way.