peter/sharon m

[Guest guest]

peter,

welcome to our family although it saddens me that you had to look for us. feel

free to ask anything, yell, scream, cry, laugh, vent, share stories, whatever it

takes for us to help you. no subject is taboo, and we each try to adjust the

subject line to relate to what the post is about.

i am so sorry to hear that there may be an 8 month wait for you to be able to

place your mother in a nh (nursing home). cg (caregiver) is a very difficutl

job and is very taxing on the emotions. and we too had to make the decision not

to bring ddaddy back home after he had hiship surgery. it wasnt easy as we

promised him we would be at home and that we wouldnt put hiim in a nh. but we

couldnt keep that promise as his care was more than we could handle even though

we did have fulltime caregiver helpping us as well.

take care of yourself, and please feel free to ask anything you need to, we are

all learning together, so the more we share the better it si for everyone.

hugs, sharon m

ps, if you see OT in the subject line, it means that post is not related to lbd.

--

Daugher of Leonard, diag May 2004, had lbd since 1993, had hip surgery from fall

7/05, aspiration pneumonia 7/05 with pulmonary embolyis, had aspiration

pneumonia and uti 8/05, died of blood pressure drop on 9/25/05,

may he rest in peace with his mom and dad,

a smile a day keeps the meanies away

---- Chapman wrote:

Also being new to the group I thought an introduction is in order.

My mother who is 78 has recently been diagnosed with LBD. While showing

symptoms for at least the last 3 years and being under the care of a

neurologist the last two years it wasn't until her being admitted to the

hospital last month that we finally learned what she had. She also suffers

from macular degeneration in both eyes, irritable bowel syndrome and has

knee replacements in both legs which may have clouded an earlier diagnosis.

Dad who is 83 has been Mom's primary care giver with me and my wife helping

out as much as possible. Recently her legs gave out and problems with bowel

and urinary incontinence have left us with no choice but have her admitted

to the hospital and wait for placement in a Nursing home which in Nova

Scotia can take up to 8 months! It was probably the hardest decision I had

to make but it was to the point where we could no longer properly care for

her. Our family GP was amazed that we where able to keep her home this long.

Going down this road the past few years I am amazed at how uneducated I was

and the community was about Alzheimer's or Dementia related illnesses. In

the beginning I thought the two where the same and it wasn't until Mom's

diagnoses that I learned of LBD. If it wasn't for the internet and wonderful

groups such as this I would probably still be in the dark.

It is shocking that such a terrible disease can have so little support and

education on the community level.