Monday, December 13, 2010

The Magic Bullet is... a Magic Bullet!

Forgive the long pause between posts. I've been conscious of the fact that while ranting keeps me from murdering, it can also be an invasion of other people's privacy. But I finally have something NICE to say, so I shall say it:

I am using a Magic Bullet blender system to grind up Betty's pills and turn them into smoothies, and she hasn't thrown up since! All credit goes to Kim, my friend and Betty's companion and driver, for the idea. It's absolutely brilliant--in the morning, I grind pills, add vanilla soy milk, strawberry syrup, a few teaspoons of unflavored fiber powder, and a cup of frozen fruit, then grind again. In the evenings I grind pills, add vanilla soy milk, chocolate syrup or powdered drink mix, and mix again. The difference in color is key--her morning and evening meds are different.

I went on ebay and bought extra blending cups and lids, and I can make 5 days of shakes at a time. Betty's doctor and pharmacist assured me that grinding and freezing won't make her medicine less effective. What a miracle, to pull a shake out of the freezer, thaw it in the microwave, and serve it. She's not wild about the taste, but it's drinkable, and when (not IF) she complains, I remind her that we can go back to swallowing a dozen pills... that ends the complaining.

THANK YOU MAGIC BULLET, FOR INVENTING A SMALL, EASY-TO-USE AND CLEAN, VERY POWERFUL BLENDER!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Good News and the Bad News

THE GOOD NEWS:
It appears that a major part of Betty's nausea is lying down in bed right after she eats, so when we have her sit up for 30 minutes or so, she keeps her food down.

THE BAD NEWS:
The only way to keep her from lying down is to keep her in the kitchen or family room. If she disappears into her bedroom, I have to check every minute or so and listen to, "I wasn't really lying down, I was just leaning!" So I'm making her sit out here, but then she wants to watch MSNBC, which makes ME want to vomit. It's a no-win situation.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Things Could Be Worse

We went to a party on July 3, and met a really cute old couple who lived in the Assisted Living center where my mother resides. One of the reasons for the party was to celebrate the woman's birthday. I'll call her Mary. Her husband, whom I'll call Ed, has Alzheimer's Disease, and lives in another part of the building. They can't live together, and they went home early from the party because he "sunsets" and becomes very difficult in the evenings. But she quietly came back to the party, once he was settled in and under the supervision of the nursing staff.
Ed was a top executive at a huge corporation, and they met each other in a bereavement group after their respective spouses died. They've been married about 8 years, and traveled the world until he was diagnosed a couple of years ago. He handled millions of dollars in his business life, but now can't add single-digit numbers together.
A few days ago, Kim, who introduced us and hosted the party, told me that Mary called her, very upset. Ed hadn't slept in days, was accusing her of having an affair and yelling at her, and she was terrified to drive him to the doctor's office alone. Kim stepped in and drove, and I've instructed her to give my number to Mary, so she can call me if Kim isn't available.
I heard a news story today about a new Alzheimer's drug that looks promising. I don't suppose it will come out in time to help Ed or Betty.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Mother's Day Dinner... Not for the Faint Hearted

Well, the day started out okay. We had brunch at my mother's assisted living center, which was quite nice, although they promised complementary mimosas, and I didn't see any. I ate the chocolate mousse to assuage my hurt feelings.

Then I took Mikey for a haircut, inadvertently letting the girl cut it WAY too short, and he refused to speak to me about about two hours. He did mouth a few profanities, until I mouthed a threat of a time-out.

Mikey's 4th/5th grade lacrosse team played at 3pm, and they've never looked better. He got 3 assists and scored a goal himself. It was wonderful to watch, especially after the stunning defeats they've suffered week after week.

About how, you're asking youself, "Why did she call this 'Mother's Day Dinner?'" I'm getting there.

We took MIL Betty, my mom, the kids, and Ra Youn, our Korean host daughter, to Bravo!, a wonderful Italian restaurant. Betty (diabetic with Alzheimer's, in case you've forgotten) ordered a martini, then a second one, and tried to order a third. David told her NO, and she was ticked off to say the least. The poor young waiter wasn't sure what to do, but I explained that if he brought her another drink she'd be going home with HIM. He came back a few minutes later, and she asked again for the drink. He showed a resourceful imagination I never expected from one so young: "I'm not allowed to overserve, ma'am. I could lose my license." By the time Betty processed this, he was gone again. She was getting downright crabby about not being allowed to have a third martini, when suddenly her head dropped down. I was afraid she'd died, but she'd just fallen asleep at the table...

We did let her order a big chocolate dessert, as her teeth had begun to fall out and she couldn't finish her dinner. If you've ever seen Monsters Inc., cue up the Harryhausen's Restaurant scene, and watch for the shot of the monster opening his mouth to eat something--another mouth comes out of his mouth and snatches up the food. This is very much like Betty looked, with her teeth detaching from her guns, as though they had a life of their own... but not as funny.

Yet we survived all this, and we were just getting up to leave, when I heard a crash. David had been walking with Betty, holding her left arm. Without warning, she keeled over to the right and slipped out of his grip, her head landing inches from a big cement pillar. Two very nice doctors came rushing over, and asked if they could help. I asked the woman if she could have Betty put down... she smiled, but damn it, didn't answer.

Okay, just blowing off steam just then.

Thankfully, Betty didn't knock over the dessert table, and wasn't hurt, except for bruising her shoulder.

This was still better than the infamous Dinner at Carrabas, which I'll describe some other time. I'll give you a hint--don't read it while YOU'RE having dinner...

Saturday, April 24, 2010

My Mother is Changing

She has called three times to see how our vacation went, not remembering that we've been back for weeks, I've visited her several times, and we've talked numerous times on the phone. I printed out my novel, so she could read it now, while she might be able to enjoy it, but she sees a Kinko's box on her table and doesn't remember what it is, nor that she's supposed to read what's in it.

I'm glad she's living where she is--she likes the people, the food, the activities--but her anchor to the world has been raised, and she's drifting slowly out to sea. Soon I won't be able to reach her at all.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

You Want Me to WHAT??

I had a colonoscopy today, just for the sheer raw fun of it, but it confirmed my decision not to put Betty through it. The test is nothing--it's the day before, when you can't eat real food all day, and the evening before, when you have to drink two liters of weird (though clear, thank God) liquid and take pills that make you run to the bathroom every 20 minutes all night.

Betty had an upper GI, and they also want to do a colonoscopy, but I'm saying HELL NO. She doesn't have enough symptoms to put any of us through that. I could barely handle it, and I'm fairly lucid and 40+ years younger.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

To Test or Not to Test, That is the Question

MIL's doctor wants her to have an upper GI test and a colonoscopy to find out why she continues to have nausea, in spite of losing her gall bladder (and gall stones.) The upper test is scheduled for next week, and the wonderful Kim will take her, which is great, but the colonoscopy people don't want to do the test unless it's absolutely necessary, because there's risk for a person her age (85).

So I think I'll have them look at the results of the first test before deciding whether we need to do the second one. Maybe I'll increase her Prilosec, too. That was suggested by the VA.

Her stomach is upset today, but I think it's because she had a milkshake and a huge rootbeer float last night (see www.thecrankycaregiver.blogspot.com) We went out for dinner for my husband's birthday, and Betty wanted to pay, so I let her eat what she wanted... after warning her what would happen if she took her dentures out at the table. She did that last time we went to this restaurant, and I'm sure there are strangers from adjacent tables who are still having nightmares.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Life Goes On

A couple of weeks ago, Betty got the stomach flu that's been going around, and about every 48 hours, another member of the family caught it, starting with me. Kim, her wonderful driver, took her to the doctor for me, as I was feeling awful, and they prescribed an anti-nausea drug. What a miracle pill! We still have some left, and when Betty complained about nausea again last week, and was curled up on her bed feeling awful, I gave her one of them. Within 45 minutes, she was eating and taking her medicine.

So if you're dealing with an elderly person who's going to vomit all over herself and create lots of extra work for YOU, not to mention misery for herself, see if you can get a doctor to prescribe one of these wonderful drugs. Better Living Through Chemistry--it's not just a slogan to me!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Horses and Zebras

I haven't been giving Betty her Aricept (Alzheimer's treatment) for almost a week. Her VA doctor wondered if doubling the dose might have caused her upset stomach at the rehab center. The doctor said that after they doubled it, the problem would have taken time to develop, and maybe that's what was happening. So when she came home from rehab and almost instantly complained of the same thing, we talked and I suggested we experiment with it.

Then Betty's OTHER doctor diagnosed flu, and gave her anti-nausea drugs for it. So maybe that was the problem. It wouldn't explain her nausea at the rehab center though. So I'm continuing with the Aricept experiment until Betty is free from nausea for several days, then I'm going to put her back on the original low dose, and if the nausea comes back, we're going to discontinue it.

You know the old saying, "When you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras." ? Well, around here it's usually both.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Back to Reality

Betty came home last week, but I must admit, she's trying very hard not to cause problems. I have the wonderful Kim K. coming to drive her adult day care and take her to the bookstore and other such places, and she has turned out to be a Godsend. She used to work at my mother's Assisted Living center, and I had no idea she'd left their because of the stress. We ran into each other just before Christmas, and I mentioned that I needed a new driver for Betty. She expressed interest, but then the company I'd called about this contacted me to say they'd found someone to fill the position.

I wasn't sure what to do, but decided to hire Kim, in spite of the fact that she doesn't have a corporate structure around her. She's more flexible, and happy to help me in other ways, like shopping, etc.

So when Betty started with vomiting and diarrhea just days after coming home, threw up at the adult day center, and had to come home early, Kim helped me handle it. It has turned out to be flu, and so far, Mikey is the only one who hasn't caught it. Betty made a mess on her floor and bed yesterday, and I felt sorry for her--she kept saying, "I'll go back to the rehab center. I know I have to go back. You can send me back."

Devonna, the home health aid who now comes three times a week, was here yesterday morning and discovered the mess. She helped me clean it up, then Kim took Betty to the doctor for me, shopped for her medicine, Gatorade, etc. I was still feeling lousy from my bout with the flu, so I just laid on the couch, did Betty's laundry, and felt sorry for myself. Not the worst morning I've had...

Betty has started putting her pills in the pockets of her clothing, intending to "take them later," so we have to watch for this behavior, but aside from that, oh, and coming out of her room in only a tee shirt this morning (thank God Mikey was still at a birthday party sleepover), life goes on as usual.