Lazy week

Went to our support group Thursday. It was great. Had a new guy there and we had a good time talking. When Fannie gets back from vacation we are suppose to make a few changes, hopefully for the better to draw more people with early onset/early stage into the group. There were 3 of us Thursday which is kinda good when we have someone new that needs to talk. I have stayed close to the house this week and crocheted and knitted. I have tried to finish some projects and start new ones. I want to sew me a new purple jacket and black dress before I go to Alexandria to talk on the 5th of June. Jesse and replanted my mosquito plants today. We hope to try them out to see if they do indeed keep the mosquitoes away. Guess I will talk later. Hug someone and let them know you care.
Sue

I am back

Well, Washington was great. Met alot of folks I had either talked to or read their blog and met new folks that I hope to keep in contact with. It was nice to be among friends and not be judged. To be ourselves. When I am among people that I feel I have to be my best, I get really tired trying. It tires me physically and mentally. It was nice just to be me. Hopefully we accomplished alot on the hill. I tried to express the need not just for me but future generations. The town hall meeting was great. I wish we had something like that around here. Hopefully when Fannie gets back from vacation we will get the word out and grow in our area. People will come out. Well, guess I will close. Be sure to hug someone and let them know you love them. Sue

History in the making

I am so glad that I could be a part of history in the making here in Louisiana. I testified before the Senate Health and Welfare board Wed. to attempt to get a bill passed to trained people working the dementia patients. It was not opposed so it is headed for the full Senate. Ruth said I may have to go back and go before the House and testify next according if we meet opposition. This is a big step for Louisiana. My stop Washington DC. I leave Sunday around lunch. Tomorrow is the crawfish boil. What a busy week, I will probably crash when I get back next week. I have tried to rest yesterday and today to prepare myself for the next week. Bye for now. Hug someone and let them know you care.
Sue

Hot date

Jesse and I went on a romantic date Friday night. It was great. We went to supper then took in a really funny movie. I am getting ready for my adventure in Baton Rouge next week then on to Washington DC next week end. This is going ot be a very crazy week. Crawfish boil next week end at Bill's. I have been crocheting, knitting and trying to sew some coffee cup cozies. My sewing machine has to go to the shop. Well Jesse wants to sit on the front porch so I will talk later. Hug someone and let them know you care.
Sue

Life little exciting surprises

I said when I started this journey I wanted to help educate people. I hope along the way I have touched lives. But as life goes on it seems I am being put in more positions to help more people understand what it is like to have EOAD. I was asked yesterday about going to Baton Rouge next week and testify before the legislation on the need for dementia training in nursing homes, home health and other health care, cannot think of the word. People who give hands on care of Dementia patients. Being from a geriactic background I do know the need. It is sad. I only wish I knew then what I know now. I probably wouldn't had a job long though because I would have been going against some of the things we are taught. Get them out of bed, put them with other residents, correct them when they are wrong, make them put on the clothes you think they should wear, the list could go on. No one bother to wonder if maybe they got tired easier than other residents. Maybe the other residents were making more noise that the dementia resident could handle. Maybe what they were thinking and saying they really felt was right in their minds. Maybe they did not like the clothes put out for them they wanted to wear some other clothes that didn't even match. Some decisions and agitation that occured now I look back and wonder would the world have come to an end with the resident being able to make more decisions. I don't think we were bad and mean to residents but we wanted to make sure they looked good as defined by the family when they came to visit. "Moma looks so good, she would just put on anything when she was at home." Did it hurt anyone is my question? Okay enough on my soap box. Have a good night and hug someone and let them know you care.
Sue

I'm back

It has been so long since I have been here. I have spent the last couple of weeks getting use to the idea of everyone moving forward with their life and me and daddy being by ourselves without worrying about anyone since we married almost 29 years ago. Yes, my house is empty and I am truly enjoying it. I have been cleaning a little at a time because if I try to think of everything I want to do it overwhelms me and I do nothing. So I decided to take one room at a time. I am putting everything back in the kitchen cabinets where "I" had them and my son moved them. Bought new drapes for the front room. So between my knitting, crocheting, loom knitting, sewing and cleaning house I keep pretty busy. I stay at home more and try to not drive as much. Yes, I still feel comfortable driving and I am doing fine at it, I am just trying to stack off so when the time comes I will have adjusted on my own. I am going to Washington D.C. May 11 for the Alzheimer's Public Forum. I am honored to be asked to make the trip. I am so excited and looking forward to meeting so many people that I read things they have written or I have spoken in the chatroom. This is going to be a great experince and I intend on enjoying every minute of it. I hope to start writing on my blog more. I do forget about it at times. I think about it sometimes but by time I get to the computer I have forgot about it and I go to other sites with other things on my mind. I wrote a little note and put it on my computer, I hope it helps to remind me. So good night, hug someone and let them know you care.\
Sue

Hello everyone, been awhile

Well this has truly been a day from _______. The worse day I have had in forever. My 29 year old is still living with me and now has a new baby which is 4 days old. That is the good part. The bad, we had the worse blow up in 13 years. We had really been getting alone so good. I approached him about a situation that I felt he did not truly understand about me, my diabetes and alzheimer's and the diet I am suppose to be on. He has taken over the duty of buying groceries and cooking, when he is here. The groceries are not things I can really eat. Sweets and starches. I cannot remember what I buy once it is put away, out of sight out of mind (what is left)LOL! He pulled out things in my refrigerate freezer and started telling me I needed to bend down and look and see what I had in them and how the children were starving while food I put in the freezer was ruining and me not cooking it after I bought it. Well, to begin with everything in there was not things I could have and the things I could have had been pushed to the back, (we have a side by side). The vegetables he found were on the bottom shelf in the back. Then to try and explain I forgot I bought them, well, needless to say the whole thing went downhill very fast. Here it is 7:07pm, he is not here and supper has not been started. The kitchen is a mess because he felt he needed to pull out all the can goods also and they are still on the cabinet. He put them there so he can put them up. I really don't know how to get to him and get him to read material on how to handle situations better and how alzheimer's steals my memory in different areas. He told me last week I needed to quit using alzhiemer's so much when I would be approached about something I forgot. I thought he was picking but now I have come to believe he really thinks I am using is for an excuse and I really don't have the problems that come up. What to do? I ran off several things this afternoon that would really help him if he would just really read them and try to understand. Sorry my first day back in awhile was a downer. Hug someone today and let them know you care. Sue