My sweet husband is keeping me on my toes. I realized that he was stressing out about when he should take his shower which involved several trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night before he wore me down and took his shower at midnight! The information I got from the Banner Alzheimer Institute says that you can't argue or try to reason when the person wants to do something and I realized that they were absolutely right. On Monday about 4 p.m. he wanted to know when he was suppose to take his shower. I tried a new approach and told him that he could take his shower whenever he wanted to take it. That wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear and again asked me when he could shower. I replied how does 9 p.m. sound to you. "Great!" he said and then spent the rest of the evening asking me if it was 9 o'clock yet. At 8:30 I asked if he would like me to set the timer and when it went off he could take his shower. He agreed (although he did ask me what a timer was) and so I set it for 1/2 hour and left it sitting by him. One minute before the timer was to ring he walked down the hallway and turned the shower on. After the shower he shaved, brushed his teeth, and put on his pajamas and at 10 p.m. he went to bed--and SLEPT ALL NIGHT!!!! I was so excited. On Tuesday we went through the same routine and again last night he slept all night and we both woke up very happy. Now it is Wednesday and I was prepared for another good routine that he has done so well for two days. About 12:30 today he asked when he was going to take his shower and I said, "how about 9 o'clock like you did last night." He said that was great. At 2 p.m. he again asked if he should take his shower now but I reminded him that he had 7 hours before his 9 o'clock shower. Fifteen minutes later he asked again if it was time, and then 15 minutes after that he asked again if he could shower. I gave up! Would you like to shower now? With a grin he asked, "Is it time?" Sure, was my reply and down the hallway he went. At 3 p.m. he came out of the bathroom all spic and span and I might add very proud of himself. I am learning that there is never a dull moment when you are dealing with memory loss. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
I've Been Tricked!
My sweet husband is keeping me on my toes. I realized that he was stressing out about when he should take his shower which involved several trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night before he wore me down and took his shower at midnight! The information I got from the Banner Alzheimer Institute says that you can't argue or try to reason when the person wants to do something and I realized that they were absolutely right. On Monday about 4 p.m. he wanted to know when he was suppose to take his shower. I tried a new approach and told him that he could take his shower whenever he wanted to take it. That wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear and again asked me when he could shower. I replied how does 9 p.m. sound to you. "Great!" he said and then spent the rest of the evening asking me if it was 9 o'clock yet. At 8:30 I asked if he would like me to set the timer and when it went off he could take his shower. He agreed (although he did ask me what a timer was) and so I set it for 1/2 hour and left it sitting by him. One minute before the timer was to ring he walked down the hallway and turned the shower on. After the shower he shaved, brushed his teeth, and put on his pajamas and at 10 p.m. he went to bed--and SLEPT ALL NIGHT!!!! I was so excited. On Tuesday we went through the same routine and again last night he slept all night and we both woke up very happy. Now it is Wednesday and I was prepared for another good routine that he has done so well for two days. About 12:30 today he asked when he was going to take his shower and I said, "how about 9 o'clock like you did last night." He said that was great. At 2 p.m. he again asked if he should take his shower now but I reminded him that he had 7 hours before his 9 o'clock shower. Fifteen minutes later he asked again if it was time, and then 15 minutes after that he asked again if he could shower. I gave up! Would you like to shower now? With a grin he asked, "Is it time?" Sure, was my reply and down the hallway he went. At 3 p.m. he came out of the bathroom all spic and span and I might add very proud of himself. I am learning that there is never a dull moment when you are dealing with memory loss. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
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