I have had a terrible time getting Blogger to work for me since I downloaded Internet Explorer 11. I didn't have a lot of time for blogger for a while, so when it wasn't working I threw in the towel! But my life has changed tremendously (well, I think it has) in the past eight months or so and I finally had the time to mess with Blogger.
Where do I begin???? Some of you may know that my Mom has Alzheimer's. My Dad died in 2009 and Mom's symptoms started to really show. Doctor visits were not helpful. We thought she was grieving terribly. Finally after grief counselling and more doctor visits, she was found to have Alzheimer's. She was able to live alone for a long time, all things considered. Then we started noticing things were getting worse. The nurses who came to visit her twice a week had been telling us for months that she should not live alone. Mom, her sister and father had taken care of her mother when she had Alzheimer's. I just naturally assumed if Mom ever had it, that is what we would do. Easier said than done. I applaud those who are actually able to successfully be caregivers 100% of the time. I couldn't.
We had a few major setbacks and were pushed into a corner of finding full time care for her. I cried. We did research. I cried. We went to support groups. I cried. We consulted with family. I cried. We toured facilities. I cried. We hired a lawyer to help us buy more time. I cried. We went to therapy. I cried. We were given an ultimatum. I cried.
As you can see, I cried a lot. Finally, we exhausted all of our options. We were faced with the only decision we had and that was a facility I was not wild about. I had heard rumors through our support group and I was scared to death. So, two weeks before Christmas, we had to place Mom. (I cried.) It was the first Christmas in almost 50 years I had not spent with Mom. They recommended we give her two weeks to adjust and that meant not going to see her at all. I called daily. Sometimes they called us if there were problems, and there were problems. When we went to see her the first time she seemed adjusted. She didn't know who we were until we actually spoke to her even though she was looking directly at us. (I didn't cry then. I waited until we were in the car.) I wish she was in a state of the art facility with a 1:1 nurse to patient ratio, but that's impossible to find. I try to see her at least twice a week. That doesn't always work out. I don't think she knows how often I come. Even when I come often, she asks me to come more often. Some of the nurses are super, some not so super. It's an older facility, so there are things needing repairs. Mom is clean when I see her and always in clean clothes. She loses her glasses, but that appears to be a normal thing around there as it was here before she moved. She goes on field trips out to breakfast with a small group the Activity Director feels will enjoy it. She's been to the movies too! I tease her that she has a more active social life than I do.
I still see a therapist who is affiliated with the memory center to help with all the adjustments. I've been encouraged to resume old hobbies. So I am knitting again!!!! Wow! Have I missed knitting!
See the socks I made? My dear friend from Ravelry dyed the yarn for me sometime back and I finally got around to using it. I opted for my simple old generic pattern to help me find my groove.
My son's girlfriend started designing embroidery patterns and asked me to test one for her.
So I did! If you want to make your own, you can order a pattern here: Fox Embroidery Pattern
Then my sister-in-law saw a pattern for a mermaid pattern. She had to show it to our niece-in-law who happens to LOVE mermaids. And since I am the only knitter in the family, I had the honor of making it for sweet little Delaney. She wore it in her six month pictures at the beach, but this was a quick pic her Mom took shortly after she got it in the mail. I love it!
All of that to let you know that I am still alive and well. That I am still knitting and doing all other sorts of crafts that I love to do. That I am going to do my best to update much more often. And that I can always use prayers for my family as we still adjust to the new changes in our lives. Thanks!
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