Pain

I hate to admit this but Grandpa's pain in his back has become my pain in the neck!  I am not sure if he is really in pain or just trying to get out of brushing his teeth, taking his pills, and getting dressed.  What I have noticed is that before I get up he gets out of bed a number of times without any problem.  Then when I get up and get everything ready to start our morning routine he sits on the chair and keeps telling me that his back hurts and he can't get up. In order to keep from hurting him more I have changed our morning routine.  I have him get up and sit in the chair by the bathroom while I get ready.  I then make the bed and I get him to the kitchen where I make his breakfast.  While there I  have him take his pills, eat breakfast and then move to the couch.  Once Perry Mason ends I tell him that I need to run some errands but he can't come unless he is able to get dressed.  That is usually all the motivation he needs and he follows me back to the bedroom for his typical growling session. 

In all honesty I know the pain is real and I wish there was an easy fix for it.  I have medication for his back that was given to me the first time his back went out and I have given it to him twice.  Another time I just gave him some aspirin.  Both seemed to work about the same.  The good news is that this morning I was able to get him in the shower for a good clean and he handled it very well.  I kept asking him if his back was okay and he kept saying no, but in spite of that, I got him scrubbed down and into clean clothes.  This week I read an article about pain in Alzheimer patients.  It mentioned that often they are hurting but don't realize what is happening or even where they hurt.  I appreciate the fact that he does seem to know and so far what I am doing is helping him a little.  I guess that pain in my neck is really an ache in my heart because I can't do more.