Lily sick, purse stolen

Mom has been a little under the weather the last couple of days with a virus.  At our family Christmas gathering a couple members of the family were not feeling up to par and that is probably where she caught her cold.

Also she must have fallen Christmas eve morning or the night before at the nursing home as she had a fresh abrasion on her knee Christmas eve morning when I helped her take a shower here.  She complained of nothing hurting her and had no other bruising or abrasions.  Of course she could not remember the incident.

Two days later she was complaining of her upper right arm hurting her so I wondered if maybe she jammed that shoulder when she perhaps caught herself when falling a couple days before.  I am only speculating. 

I have not seen her today as my car is in the shop getting a key made for it as Emily had her purse stolen yesterday which had the car keys in it.  Naturally we only had that one key.  A new key cost $200!

What happened was Emily and two of her dancer friends went to Yellowsprings to hike at Clifton Gorge.  They left their purses hidden inside the car and someone broke out the window to steal both purses and the GPS. Another car was also vandalized.

When filing a police report the police said the same thing had happened now for 3 days in a row.  Wouldn't you think they might decide to do something.  Apparently they did not want to post a sign as they thought it might keep people away.  I don't know, I kind of think having your car window broken and purses stolen would definitely keep people away as opposed to a sign warning to keep all valuables with you.  Common sense....  does it ever prevail?

Fortunately Emily did not have any money in her purse but did lose 2 gift cards from Starbucks and Trader Joes.  Her friend lost several gift cards as well.  Both girls canceled their credit cards and had to get new drivers licenses today.

So our biggest expense is the car keys but I guess it could have been a lot worse because she could have had her keys for her apartment and car in AZ in it which fortunately she did not as she just had changed purses. 

So now both of my children have been the victim of theft in the last 3 months.
Bah humbug!

Seven O'Clock

Driving home from the airport with Emily, Mom looking out and seeing it dark said,

"I don't know if my Mom will be up when I get home."

"Nana, it's only seven o'clock."

"Well, where I come from they are all in bed at seven o'clock."

Emily quickly replied,  "That's because they are all old farts."  which made Lily laugh.

And you know she is right, many of the folks at Bethany are at least in their rooms if not in bed by seven o'clock!  I wonder if that is where she was talking about..........

Merry Christmas!

Emily is on her way home

Emily is flying home today from Tucson for a 10 day visit.  We are all so excited to have her back with us and I know she can't wait to get back.  She is to arrive at 6:30pm and hopefully the weather coming in will hold till she gets in.

Lily has even remembered this week that Emily is coming home and will be here to greet her as we are having Lily spend the night in her old room tonight.  Hopefully, that will go well and she will adjust like old times.  Time will tell.

Merry Christmas Eve!

me, Lily, and my brother Tim

Does love slow Alzheimer's disease?

Recently Bob DeMarco  asked this question on his site The Alzheimer Reading room http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2010/12/alzheimers-caregiver-love-quotes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAlzheimersReadingRoom+%28Alzheimer%27s+Reading+Room%29

This is my response.

Does caregiver love slow Alzheimer’s?  Interesting question.

I suppose indirectly it does because when you love someone you want the best for them.  You want to treat them like you would like to be treated.  You want to make them happy and you want to see them smile.  You want to hear their laughter and see that sparkle in their eye.  

To do that you must interact with them, stimulate them, touch them, encourage them, and support them.  

So is it the love or is it the stimulation that actually slows Alzheimer disease?  Probably both. 

Looking at infants it has been proven that without touch infants do not thrive.  Even with animals a mother’s licking of her cubs is vitally important to their growth.

Not only is touch good for the body, it appears good for the mind. Studies show that newborns receiving extra touch display greater neurological development. Researchers believe that touch promotes the growth of myelin, the insulating material around nerves that makes nerve impulses move faster.

Perhaps with the Alzheimer’s patient touch does much more than we realize.

And I suppose without love and affection there would be little touch and stimulation.

Comments welcome.

Supposedly Cat

This cat which Mom actually gave to me probably 20 years ago sits in her room under a chair.  This is a recent conversation about her.



"That is supposedly a cat."

"She is heavy as hell.  It's too bad she can't walk."


"I like her though.   She is cute."


"She is supposed to be a cat but you can't lift her."


"Too bad she can't talk."

"And she hasn't ate anything in  a year."