Walking + entertaining = for a good night sleep (well we can hope)

People with Alzheimer's have a hard time sleeping through the night and especially my Mom who always suffered with insomnia even when she was a little girl I try to keep her active during the day without naps so she can sleep at night, it's hard for sure.  I found out that walking her at malls is really helpful, she likes seeing the people and she gets to stop at places like Starbucks for hot chocolate even when she wanted ice cream in chilly weather (chilly for Southern California) but had to convince her that if she had ice cream she would get pneumonia so I was able to have hot chocolate with whip cream of course.  Thank goodness walking her the mall twice helped this particular night because I really needed at least 6 hours of sleep.  I noticed she was getting a little tired so I pulled out my phone and I have a playlist named " Mom's episode music" and she just loved listening to her music and sipping on her hot chocolate.  These are the memories I will always cherish.

Stories Compromised

As part of the progression of dementia my Mom's stories are getting jumpled, it's been happening for about over a year maybe two but there's nothing I can do then to go along with it.  The other day we went to a restaurant and someone had placed a sticker with the word "Elvis" on it, I was expecting what came out of her mouth next.

She smiled and said "I had a boyfriend once named Elvis, all the girls were after him, he had prettiest eyes."  I know all of her past boyfriends.  She continued that he was an a very popular signer and I knew she was getting Elvis Prestly confused as one of her past friends.  I let her keep talking about her "boyfriend Elvis" it was one of the times I just looked at her and she looked like she was so far away from me.  Her body is the one of my Mom but I'm loosing her slowly but in that moment she was so happy to talk about her "boyfriend Elvis" so I went along with the story let her tell me how he made her feel (a child should never hear that from a parent, just saying) but I let her go on and on and I smiled and told her she was very lucky.  Ahhh Alzheimer's you are the biggest thief out there.

Easter 2016

It's been a while since I blogged on our journey with Alzheimer's and if any caregivers are out there you know there isn't much time to blog but I have been keeping a journal and will be entering them more on a regular basis.

This Easter I did something different, instead of going to the whole family Easter gathering which would have been too overwhelming for my Mom and instead of me cleaning and cooking for a small gathering with just the immediate family which causes me a lot of stress and energy that I don't have I planned to take my Mom to mass with our family priest that she loves seeing and taking her to a picnic at the Fullerton Arboretum which ended up being the best idea I feel I have ever had.  Not only was my Mom excited to see Fr. Phil but she enjoyed the quite picnic and then a walk around the arboretum which got her tired and is now sound asleep.

I know some family members understand, other's don't and I am learning that I can't please everyone and I need to focus what is best and safest for my Mom and her wellbeing and that they are not in my shoes.  If they really want to see my Mom, as she always tells me they can come see her anytime they don't have to wait for a holiday or a birthday to think of her.  I know she feels it that they don't visit or call her so keeping her busy with "adventures" as she calls them is the best I can do for her.


Happy Easter to All!

Lost recipes

I don't like to regret what I've done in my life because they've all been a learning experience one way or another but I do have one regret. I never wrote down my Mom's recipes although she's still with me physically her brain is robbing her of her memories including the delicious food she used to make us. I miss her Ecuadorian food and not being able to make it for my niece and nephew when they ask for certain foods makes me upset with myself. For us non-Mexicans I used to think her mexican chicken Pozole was the best and nobody's has ever come close it and that stems from not being made with my Mom's hands. So today I decided I was going to try, with a 911 text to Oti (Anna) I think I might have come close to it well at least Mom ate all of it which is a plus even made her backup burrito in case she didn't like it. So the moral to this long post is if you still have your parents or loved ones around whose brain hasn't been robbed by Alzheimer's take an hour or two or even spend a day with them writing down your favorite recipes and making new memories with them, they will appreciate it and you will hold on those moments and be able to pass it on to your future generations

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Our Alzheimer's Journey featured on Channel 22 Mundo-fox

Back in June my Mother and I were asked to do an interview with Mundo-fox about our journey with Alzheimer's.  What should have been a two hour interview turned into eight a big portion because of all of the repeating my Mom does now and some little technical difficulty.  It was a three-part series, ours is the second part.

Part one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_R7QADLPm8

Part two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap5hoEr6Bgc&list=UU6Sg37N3JGEjbWd4kyQy8Pg

Part three:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11mGsSib5I0&list=UU6Sg37N3JGEjbWd4kyQy8Pg

A Walk to Remember Team Tribute Video 1

Some of our team members have put together our first team video, hope you like it.



http://youtu.be/aO_rQ0qauSQ

Vietnamese Talkshow links

   Below you can find two links regarding the Vietnamese Talkshow I was on earlier this month. It was aired about 5 times in all 50 states including Canada. 

Part 1

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=em-upload_owner&v=Fsq5Lap3Llc

Part 2

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OshfhwQ6X1k&feature=em-upload_owner