Dotty is back, and she is back in a way that I could have never expected or envisioned....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
For the those of you that are following along Dotty had been very sick. As a result, we were unable to go out to a restaurant since Christmas. We had plans for New Year's Eve but that was the day Dotty became very ill.
Point number one. We are back to living our life the way we always had folks. I did have my doubts the entire month of January when I was moving Dotty around in a wheelchair. No walker by the way.
When we entered the restaurant it was very crowded. I noticed that Dotty stopped in her tracks. Almost like backing up. The stimuli was overwhelming and she was clearly nervous. I moved her along an inch at a time, and whispered in her ear. All was well.
Normally we get a booth in that restaurant. I could see that wasn't going to happen this time around. I pointed to a table in the back corner of the restaurant and the waitress nodded at me. Navigating Dotty through all the people was a bit tedious.
Dotty likes to grab on to things. Like the back of an occupied chair. We made it.
I noticed Dotty was a bit disconcerted. I am use to dealing with this now. No big problem. Just takes a bit of calm communication.
Then something very interesting happened.
Our waitress, who we know from our many visits, came over to take our order. She looked Dotty in the eye and said, "linguine with white clam sauce honey"? And then, she rapidly turned her head to look at me. I shook my head yes. She took my order. She then looked right at Dotty and asked "coffee"? Rapidly turned her head and looked at me, I shook my head yes. Dotty smiled. How about that folks? There are some smart, caring, educated, waitresses out there.
Dotty started with soup. I passed on the appetizer. This is the kind of Italian restaurant where they give you monster portions of food. Dotty added a piece of bread to her appetizer. I watched.
I was awaiting the main course with great interest. How was Dotty going to handle the linguine?
Amazing. She started twirling it with her fork and shoveling it into her mouth. Yes, she did use her finger a few times to assist. This explains why we usually sit so that other people cannot watch Dotty as she eats. Refer to this article -- Alzheimer's Caregiver Lament -- I can't take her out because she eats with her hands.
Normally, Dotty eats about half the linguine and we talk the rest home. Not this Friday night.
As I sit there and patiently watch, my meal already in my stomach, Dotty continues to eat and eat and eat.
For about twenty minutes Dotty is twirling away without saying a single word. Sometimes the linguine falls off very fork -- she looks perplexed. Sometimes she has to use a finger to get it just right. I ask her a few times if she wants to take the rest home? She more or less tells me to mind my own business.
Dotty is left handed. She twirls the linguine counter clockwise. I am right handed, I twirl my side of spaghetti clockwise. You have to do something while you are sitting there in total silence so you won't get a stomach ache. So I watch and observe Dotty as she eats.
It does get a bit tedious. I remind myself how it use to bend me out of shape in the old days. The total silence and lack of interaction. While I think about it, Dotty looks kinda cute twirling the linguine. Every once in a while I say to Dotty, you have food on our face. She picks up her napkin and wipes her face clean. Hmm, she doesn't use her hand. I say a couple of extra times, you have food on your face, she picks the napkin up every time. Interesting.
So there is Dotty pigging away on linguine, claims, bread and the afore mentioned soup As she continues to eat this massive volume I am thinking there is going to be a price to pay for this. Dotty is going to be in either a bad mood, or like "not there" from the after shock of eating all the food tomorrow. Food overload to her system.
Wrong.
Dotty wakes up bright and early on Saturday morning. She is in a good mood. I put her right in front of Harvey and she starts yakking away. We go through our morning ritual ... what day is it....
Later on in the day, we are dealing with the poop - E agita. Dotty is pretty much out of it. We use the magic elixir. It Works.
So here we are on Sunday morning. Dotty wakes up at 6:38 AM. Opens the door and grabs the newspaper. For the first time in 7 weeks she is attacking the crossword puzzle. I might add she opened the paper and found it on her own.
Dotty and Harvey are yakking right now.
I don't really know what is happening. I will try and explain later this week what I think is happening.
Dotty is back, and she is back in a way that I could have never expected or envisioned.
Alzheimer's Disease -- Advice and Insight
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- Alzheimer's World -- Trying to Reconnect with Someone Suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
- Worried About Alzheimer's Disease -- You Should Be
- Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Disease Patients
- Alzheimer's Disease Statistics
- Ten Tips for Communicating with an Alzheimer’s Disease Patients
Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an X Wall Street executive turned full time Alzheimer's caregiver. The blog contains more than 2,310 articles with more than 285,100 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
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Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room