Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Live long enough to be trouble for your kids.......

Many years ago, my mother had cross stitched a pillow that read:  Live long enough to be a problem for your children!  It was proudly displayed on her sofa as a sort of running joke about the problems Kenny and I caused her as we were growing up. 

Her father, my beloved Papa, was diagnosed with Alzheimers around age 80.  Mom was an only child.  Prior to this she had dealt with her mother's death, finding out about my grandfather's mistress of 40 odd years, having him marry his mistress, watching him move from Louisiana to Houston and then develop Alzheimers Disease.  In the middle of dealing with him driving from Houston back to Laplace LA instead of ending up at the grocery store down the street one day, she made a big display of cutting that pillow to shreds.

Well now, all these years later, I am in her shoes.  I am dealing with her Alzheimers Disease.  Her husband is in a nursing home following a stroke. She still lives in his house and his kids shuttle her back and forth to the nursing home daily.  So today she decided for some reason to wheel him into the parking lot and try to take him to the Catholic Church across the road from the nursing home.  She couldn't get him too far, so she left him in the parking lot and continued herself. 

Well, let me tell you.  It upset a whole lot of people.  Including the nursing home administration.  So they have fitted the wheelchair with a WanderGuard and with my permission, will fit her with one tomorrow.  The WanderGuards are what the celebrities wear when they are restricted to home or a halfway house.  So she can be considered to be moving up in the social world, I guess.

After spending an hour or so on the phone with the nursing home this morning, I think we have got this settled.  And I spent the rest of the day, with scissors in hand, searching my house for that pillow..........................

glen

2 comments:

  1. Oh Glenda, At least you are still finding the humor. She really is a spitfire isn't she. Thanks for sharing this instead of hiding it. Lots of us need to remember how to laugh about our family experiences (problems). Ann

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  2. Glen - Alzheimers is a terrible disease but you seem well equipped to handle it on a daily basis. My heart goes out to all of you.

    Marie

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