WAS IT A BEAUTIFUL DAY ?

WAS IT A BEAUTIFUL DAY?

I've been singing this song "oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day".... with my mom for the last several weeks. We have been singing in harmony as we cheerfully sing the lyrics.  Somehow this week turned out to be filled with curves and hills as we traveled through the valley together.

One morning when mom's caregiver arrived, she found mom complaining about back pains and that she had removed all the towels from her closet, as well as leaving her bedroom in shambles. Mom was rambling on and not making much sense. We have become experienced enough to know that this was the start of a UTI( urinary tract infection).The first time it happened we were not aware of how common it was with Alzheimer patients. Mom was hallucinating.

It's hard to believe that an infection could cause such reactions. At that time my brother and I was sure that mom was needing to be moved into a nursing home. Luckily it was only the infection that caused such delusions. Based on our experience we are now aware of the symptons, so we immediately put her on an antibiotic.

The same night I recieved a rather alarming phone call from the fire department. A wonderful fireman called Mike was at my mother's home. One of her neighbors sited mom wandering and called 911. How could this be when mom was suppose to be with her caregiver? Mike the fireman found her sitting oustside on the curb. He said that mom was fine although she was disoriented when he found her, and did not know where she lived. Thankfully she was wearing a Medic Alert bracelet which enabled him to find her home and track me down.

I was at first feeling panicked and many different emotions were attacking me all at once. Guilt, fears,and anger. I pulled myself together and was able to reach her caregiver who left mom to get something to eat. She returned to my mothers home and stayed the night with her. I was told by the fireman that if he could not find anyone he would have had to take mom to the hospital. This was brand new for she never ever wandered before, in the eight years that she has Alzheimer's.

Wandering is quite common and I urge all of you that are now reading my post, to please make sure that your loved one has an identification bracelet. If you need more information please contact your local Alzheimer organization wherever you may live, and they will be able to advise you on how to get one.

Mom ended the week on an "up" note for when I shared with her that her son was coming she said "oh my brother I love him so much." "No mom not your brother, your son is coming." Mom's tender reply was "brother, son what difference does it make, I love them all the same."I realized that mom can distinguish who is her family, and yet she cannot always distinguish between brother, son, father, sister, daughter,or mother. Sometimes she thinks her name is Lisa and it amuses her that she and I have the same name. Most days she knows my name and that I am her daughter.

Being grateful for the little things in life is all that I now can ask for. Yes I am grateful and I am thankful that my mom still can warm my heart in so many ways. Big, small it does not matter. So I ask myself was this a beautiful day? For me my answer has to be yes.


My newly released book-My Mom My Hero, is now available on Amazon and Kindle worldwide. The reviews have been wonderful.

http://www.amazon.com/Mom-Hero-Alzheimers--daughters-bittersweet/dp/0615773982/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363625113&sr=1-6&keywords=my+mom+my+hero