June 2008

Things are getting worse for my Nana. The wandering has increased. My Nana is starting to injure herself in the night, so far not in an acute way, but worrisome nonetheless. Emails between family members, in response to my mom's updates, are getting a bit tense (not shown here this month). As you can see from today's (June 30) email, this time the police found Nana wandering in the night. Her behavior is becoming a bit more aberrant each day - dirty underwear in the silverware drawer - yes funny but also truly sad. I don't want to remember her this way.

June 5, 2008
Last night while I was sitting at my computer, Nana tried to go upstairs three times. Since my walker was blocking the stairs, I was able to convince her that we no longer went upstairs. She insisted that someone was up stairs. At first it was a party. Then it was a girl that she needed to take care of right away. The last time it was a man that she needed to see. There is always a price for stopping Nana from doing what she wants to do.

When I went into the kitchen, I found that she had opened a new half gallon of milk with a steak knife. There was milk all over the counter and on the floor. There was a plastic cup of milk on the floor full of milk, so obviously she was feeding Fluffy. In all my life, I have never seen Nana drink milk. She also fed Fluffy my potato salad. This morning M told me that she had also fed Fluffy the ham that M had bought to put in Nana's omelet. M and I are running out of places to hide things.

Nana slept most of the day. She looked really tired when A2 gave her some dinner. She finally had to feed her the dinner. When she put her to bed, Nana was complaining that her shoulder hurt. I think that when she fell last week, she landed on her shoulder. So she gave her some Tylenol and rubbed some salve on her shoulder. Perhaps she will feel better tomorrow.

June 11, 2008
Nana was happy last night and tonight because A2 just sat and talked with her. It was much too hot for anything else. But after A2 went home, Nana became very confused. She was looking for Pop. She left her walker in front of the commode. She forgot to flush the commode. She wanted me to take her somewhere else, even though we have been having thunder storms tonight.

A few years ago when Nana would say the same thing several times, I would say that she had a bee in her bonnet. Later when she would say the same thing for an hour or more, I would say that she was obsessed. Last week A came up with a new description of Nana mood and actions. She said that she was on a mission. Sometimes her missions are to get outdoors. Sometimes her missions are to scatter her clothes all over the house. Tonight her mission appears to be avoiding sleep.

June 20, 2008
T, our next door neighbor rescued Nana again last night. T called me at 12:30 AM. She said that she had Nana at the door. She told me that her dog Cosmo would not leave her alone last night. She finally went out side and found Nana. So we have both T and Cosmo to thank. When she came inside, I asked Nana where she had been. Nana said that she went out into the back yard and then she got lost. She had her walker with her this time, so I do not think that she fell. But M found a bruise on the back of Nana's hand this morning. We can't figure out how that happened. I am just thankful that T found Nana and brought her home.

June 28, 2008
Nana has found a new place to hide things. This morning M found a pair of soiled underwear in the kitchen in the silverware drawer. She washed everything in the drawer.

On the good news side, Nana got her hair done today. Then A2 took her out to the Scotchwood Diner for dinner. A1 said that she had a good time.

June 30, 2008
This morning I awoke at 6:50 AM because someone was knocking on the kitchen door. It was the police. They found Nana wandering around the front yard.

Someone had called them when they saw Nana sitting on the front steps. The police called the rescue squad and they took her to the hospital. Fortunately Muhlenberg Hospital is still open. I called A to let her know that Nana was on the way to the hospital. A followed Nana and brought her home. She said that she was not injured, just covered with dirt. M thought that perhaps she had been digging in the garden near the front door where A2 had planted some flowers a few days ago. Nana is sitting in the living room now in her favorite chair. She is sleeping most of the time, but she has talked to me several times when she awakens.

I am not sure what time Nana went outside. I was in the living room between two and three having a very late dinner. I can't hear the alarm on the door from the living room. When I went to bed, Nana's walker was blocking the way near the basement stairs. It was facing the living room. Nana often leaves her walker blocking the area where I need to walk. When I finally got into the kitchen, the kitchen door was open. Nana opens that door every time she enters the kitchen. It did not occur to me that she was outside because the walker was in the house. The last time she went outside during the night, she took the walker with her. In the future, the walker will not indicate where she is. Nana had even put her new red quilt on her bed, so it appeared that she was asleep.

I am thankful that the police found her before she got into the street. L Avenue is busy even at six AM.