By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
I had to put her in bed (actually she put herself in bed which is unusual), and there she has stayed other than to go to the bathroom, and to eat.
Dotty is not saying, I'm hungry, I'm starving. I did get her up long enough this morning to eat breakfast.
Dotty knows she is sick.
When Dotty gets sick it is very disconcerting and disheartening. She is just out of it. Really devoid of any real awareness. She is not there.
I am use to this but, nevertheless, it does worry me, and it does bring on an enormous amount of stress.
I worry the most that Dotty won't bounce back, or worse, she will fall down the Alzheimer's staircase.
Mental preparation certainly helps. But in this case reality bites, and I have to keep on working off the stress.
The plan for New Year's eve was to take Dotty to the midnight fireworks. Dotty and I talked about it all week. Dotty was just so amazed that the fireworks were at midnight. This in spite of the fact that we have gone about 20 times.
I was also hoping to get Dotty on to our old style Carousel here in Delray Beach. I was thinking "great" video. We probably won't get a picture of Dotty in front of Santa's House, or in front of the giant gingerbread house (real ginger bread) this year. Dotty won't get to see all the kids ice skating in the old schoolyard downtown.
Bobby won't get to see any of this either.
Alzheimer's disease sucks. Although I don't think I can blame Alzheimer's in this case.
As it turns out, we decided to throw in with our neighbors for Christmas dinner. Two of the people that came were sick with some kind of monster cold that they had been fighting for over a week. This worried me right off the bat.
By the time we made it to Wednesday I thought we were in the clear. Then I found out on Friday morning that everyone that was there was sick. Real sick. Our friend Jim is so sick he couldn't get out of bed.
The only person that is not sick so far is me. I guess I now have to worry for another week that I don't catch something from Dotty.
In seven years I have been sick only two days. Dotty and Franny handed me some great genes. I rarely get sick. I need those genes now.
Not to worry everyone. I have my eye on the ball and have already discussed all the contingency plans with myself. If Dotty gets a high fever, over 99, its off to the emergency room.
Meantime, I'll continue to pump as much liquid into her as possible. I considered going for an over the counter drug, but you always have to worry about what conflicts with what.
The hope is we make it to Monday. Once we get a chest X-ray I'll be feeling more comfortable.
Sorry to rain on your parade today.
Writing this down did help. So thanks.
Alzheimer's Disease -- Advice and Insight
- What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia?
- 60 Good Reasons to Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room
- About the Alzheimer's Reading Room
- Alzheimer's Disease and the Five Stages of Grief
- What is Alzheimer's? What are the Eight Types of Dementia?
- Alzheimer's Disease CareGiving -- Insight and Advice (20 articles)
- Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's Disease (5 Best Self Assessment Tests)
- Communicating in Alzheimer's World
- 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
- Is it Really Alzheimer's Disease or Something Else?
- Ten Symptoms of Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease
- Ten Tips for Communicating with an Alzheimer’s Disease Patients
Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. The blog contains more than 2,255 articles with more than 272,100 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
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Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room