(((((April)))))

[Guest guest]

April-

I have been thinking of you a lot. Talk about a

full plate. Life does have a way of working itself

out. My belief is faith has a lot to do with that.

There is a world of people keeping you in their

thoughts and prayers.

Many heartfelt hugs and prayers for you and

your family-

Sandie

Des Moines, IA

-- My Dad is Heading to the Nursing Home

Tomorrow

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> Well, my dad didn't end up having the second surgery to correct

> whatever was wrong with his pacemaker. They were somehow able to

> replace a lead on it without having to to it surgically, for which

> I'm very grateful. My brother called today and said the pacemaker

> is working fine, however, Dad has not been himself today. He said

> that Dad has come up with the most bizarre stories about people

> pouring water all over him and holding him down. He was also

> convinced that someone came into his room last night and abducted

> him. When my brother said that it didn't happen, Dad got pretty

> angry with him. He even went so far as to call in some nurses to

> back up his stories, but, of course, they couldn't. You have to

> remember that before my dad's hospitalization 6 weeks ago, he was

> doing fairly well for someone who's 81 years of age. He was living

> on his own, but my brother or his wife would check on him almost

> daily. He was starting to have some problems, though, but nothing

> major. He was told that he was beginning to show signs of

dementia,

> but I figured it was the usual aging process. Now, I'm really

> concerned about his mental status. My brother also said it's as if

> Dad has some sort of fixation disorder. He said he had my brother

> take him into the bathroom to wash his face. His said Dad took the

> washcloth and cleaned one eyebrow for, literally, 10 mins. He,

then,

> cleaned his other eyebrow for the same amount of time. He said he

> never once touched his face. Also, the other morning, he said he

> wanted to shave and ended up keeping his electric razor in one area

> so long that he cut his upper lip. My dad has always been very

> interested in what is happening in the news and never missed a day

> of reading the newspaper. Now, my brother said he appears to be

> completely uninterested in watching the news or reading the paper.

> In fact, he said he took a paper to him this morning and Dad sat

> there and stared at the picture on the front of the paper for 30

> min. and never read one word. It's so hard for me to accept what's

> happening to him, especially because I can't explain it. I talked

> to him briefly this afternoon and, before we hung up, he started

> crying, again. I know I'm losing my Dad because I feel him slipping

> away from me each and every day. I asked my brother if he sees Dad

> ever being able to come out of the nursing home and he said, " No. "

> He said he needs help with all bodily functions now and has all but

> lost every bit of his mobility. I can't believe my FIL is the one

> with LBD and all sorts of problems, but it's my own dad who is

going

> to a nursing home first. My only prayer now is that Dad will be

> treated with kindness, compassion, and respect in the nursing home.

> I know there will soon come a day when I won't even be able to

> converse with him on the phone anymore. I am so thankful I went to

> see him in the hospital when I did because things will never be the

> same again.

>

> April

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Welcome to LBDcaregivers.

>

>

>