Mom is in respite care for the month of December. (Respite, in this case, basically means a break for us, the caretakers.) I'll spare you all the details of what brought us to that decision, but I will say our family was in desperate need of some assistance and we found a place in Fort Worth that works exclusively with Alzheimer's patients. There are in-house doctors and lots of wonderful nurses who understand our situation and have been a tremendous help. They are very good with Mom and she seems to like them.
Last Saturday we surprised Mom by bringing her a cake and some presents to celebrate her 66th birthday. She's always been very good about making us feel special on our birthdays and we wanted to make sure she was honored on hers. I told her we were coming, but everything is a surprise when you have Alzheimer's. We took my mom's mom and sister with us, while my brother and his family met us there.
The facility provided a room for us to celebrate. They even decorated and set out some punch. They seem to know their clientele; Mom was thrilled with the party hat.
It was a good day and Mom was very grateful--something she's not always aware enough to be. We were able to actually enjoy the simple pleasure of her company after getting a short break from the daily task of caring for her every need. We know she's in good hands and, because the past six months have been extremely taxing on our family, we are taking the month of December to recalibrate and make some decisions for the coming year. We're asking God for wisdom to do what's best for everyone involved and we appreciate your prayers to that end.
Thanks for the update. Will pray.
ReplyDeleteGood news guys!
ReplyDeleteGlad you can take a break!
Nice day for the family and your Mom!
Wishing you guys a blessed Holiday Season!
What a great picture of you and your mom!! Seems to have been a special day for everyone! Thankful for that!
ReplyDeleteYou don't know me. I recently started blogging because of the need to talk -- mostly about my mother, because I just lost her. I happended upon your blog and began reading. Bless your heart. I lost my father to Alzheimer's disease about 11 years ago. Then became my mother's caregiver for the past 10. She was 94. The early onset of Alzheimer's is truly taxing. You hit the nail on the head with that statement. I wish you all the best. Treasure the moments you do have with her. And even on those days that she is the most confused, tell her you love her. You can find my blog at http://alwaysonmymindforeverinmyheart.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-reason.html
ReplyDeleteIt really has helped me.