saturday, 9/29/2007

ok, so here's one of the things i've been dealing with recently. dad is having a lot of trouble remembering how to turn the tv on and off. it's one button- but.... for anyone who has cable, you understand the cable remote has like 40 buttons.... so i get his problem. it's tough enough for those of us with sound minds, ya know? i thought i solved the problem by gluing a button on the on/off button... the button came off, moving along to solution two. red fingernail polish.

the other problem we're experiencing is when dad wants to change channels he's actually blocking the channels he goes to. we're down to only a few of the normal 300 channels to choose from now. the good news is he hasn't blocked PBS- his favorite channel. don't ask me how this hasn't happened yet as it's truly the only channel he constantly tries to find!

so at first i'm like- hey no big deal, i'll just unblock the channels. for those of you know know me personally, you know i used to work for one of the big cable companies... so this should be no problem.

w-r-o-n-g.

it's not that easy cuz DUH!! you need a PIN. wellllllll... no one here has put in a PIN for parental blocking purposes. so start over at square one... call the cable company.

now this is where i may get furious reliving the experiences, so bear with me while i retell the story.... i'll try to keep it short and clean.

first, i'm on hold. ok.
i finally get to what i think is the end of the que, i heard an actual voice... then, dial tone.
i call back... yup, i'm on hold. ok.
BAM! dial tone.

by this time, the situation is creating a life of it's own. i'm thinking- hey! i should call someone i know over there and backdoor this thing.

hearing the angel on my right shoulder.... nooo, don't do that. you don't work there anymore. be patient and try again.

oops- mom needs help first. ohhh- here comes dad... he needs help, too.

that's done. call again. on hold.

wait- KEWL! a human!! hi! this is katmir, i used to work in business class by the way..... how are you today? good, good. oh we're doing well, too, thanks. hey, we have a problem we need help with- may i run something by you? ohh good, thanks.

i'm thinking so far so good. then that angel on my right shoulder tells me to tell my story straight out... honesty is the best policy, so i begin... this isn't for me, you understand, this is a problem at my parents house. they're both elderly and under my care and......

i'm interrupted.

ma'am, let me stop you right there... if you aren't on the account you're calling about, there's probably nothing i can do to help you. i hope you understand and i'm sorry.

i reply with.... umm, i certainly understand policies and the precautions you must take, but if you don't mind hearing me out for a minute, i'm sure you will understand this is a minor issue that can be easily resolved.

ma'am, again i'm sorry. you've already said this is about your parents account. unless you are authorized to speak on their behalf, i'm afraid we are unable to help you. now, if the person listed on the account is available and can speak to me and verify some information, then i will be very happy to assist you.

umm, ok, well that would be my dad... however... (dad is in his chair and can hear me, so how do i say this without hurting him). ya know, never mind. i will have dad call you back at a more convenient time for him, may i get your name?

ohh- anyone here can assist him. thank you for calling. have a nice day.

after an hour or so, i tell dad we need to call the cable company. i think i explained what he needed to do on the phone call, so dialed and prayed...

yes. yes. thank you. no. yes, (614) 224... (no dad, that's your office phone, it's (614) 876...) oh yes, sorry, it's... yes, jim. yes. yes. my SS#? it's 4500 du. (uh, dad... not your address, they are asking for your last four- like what what we give at the VA) oh yes. ok. you'll need to speak with scott, he's got that information. like scott said earlier, the newspaper doesn't have a button and it needs to be scored.

the agnel on my left shoulder is saying.... you idiot. see what you did?!! what were you thinking?

i reached over, hugged dad and took the phone. i said thank you, you did great!

click. i hung up. this morning i emailed a manager i know at the cable company. her father also has alzheimer's.... at one time, she said to let her know if there was anything she could do. i figured it was time to see if she meant it.

another thing dad and i do a lot of.... and i mean, realllllly a lot of.... is opening and closing cupboards and doors. he needs to make sure everything is inside that is supposed to be inside. and, further, he needs to make sure i know that the doors are closed. if they don't close- as in latch, we open and close and open and close until i assure him it will stay closed until someone pulls it open-- to which, he promptly decides is his task to do for me.

we turn lights on and off... we check faucets.... we check clothes drawers.... we move shoes and coats. dad was always a person who had everything in it's place- so this stuff doesn't surprise me at all. but.... it's wearing on me to do these things a thousand times over the course of a day. yes, my friends.... alzheimers.

it's go bucks saturday. a beauty. hope everyone is having a great weekend! dad and mom will be listening to the game on the radio.

thursday, 9/27/2007

had a nice visit from the reverend again today. a perfect day for his visit as we had no home healthcare invasions!

a lot has been on my mind recently-- haven't posted them for one reason or another.... mainly because i haven't thought everything all the way thru yet. nothing epiphany related or anything... just thoughts about blessings, family and friends.

dad slept most of the morning after breakfast due to the lovely rain (we needed)-- i think i learned to enjoy the rain from dad... i find it of great comfort and would have dearly loved to do exactly what dad did.

each day dad is having more trouble finding words to tell me what he wants.... today his words were very random and although he never once got outwardly frustrated, he quickly got quiet then either just sat or got up to go back to the bedroom. just a little while ago, he gestured to get up-- so i helped him.... thinking he was heading back to his room.... the television must have irritated his thoughts as all that was required was turning it off (which i always do the moment he gets up)-- he sat back down immediately without a word and is watching the sun go down.

dad was pretty good with the reverend.... the reverend is wise anymore on what to do during a visit now. he shares other friends hello, various church stories, going ons, thoughts.... leaving just enough room for participation... he is cautious and introduces another item to share when i don't try to help fill in the blanks of dad's commentary.... the good reverend has easily learned that means it's time to move onto another topic. we've both-- during those times, simply saved face.... and more important, one other person's dignity.

god bless those who understand without question. i think the church found a good senior minister.... much gratitude to our heavenly father who pointed his way to us.

wednesday, 9/26/2007

took dad and mom out for sundaes yesterday... we had a great time and sure was yummy. learned a couple more things... dad is one lean mean peeing machine; when mom's done with her meal (or in this case, sundae)- everyone must also be done and it's time to go; neither parent can walk 30 feet without stopping- making it interesting to hold onto two people at the same time.

so guess it's time to get ahold of the doc and ask him to sign off on a disabled placard allowing us to park in handicapped parking spaces. shouldn't have a problem with that-- perhaps i shoulda done this earlier but never found it necessary.

dad was exhausted after our outing... he was fine for the first half hour then went downhill from there... he ended up going to sleep on the couch for 45 minutes, then decided it was time for bed. naturally he paid the price for such an early bedtime-- we had a storm here last night around 730pm that woke him and... he woke up again in the wee hours. i'm sure today will be catch up day but he's doing fine so far.

mom's more tired today, too. doesn't help she has both therapy appointments this morning- one done and one happening as i type. and, no breakfast in her tummy. she's handling it fine with the therapists but outside of their ears, i'm her target. good times.

have a trip to the VA with dad this afternoon- with any luck his blood levels will be back to normal. we've had two weeks to recover soooo... here's hoping!

sunday, 9/23/07

another pretty good day!

dad went to church with brother and then out to lunch.... he enjoyed sitting outside much of the day-- it was gorgeous under his shadetrees. he's messing up a lot of words-- but it was easy to figure out what he was getting at today. blessings!!

i've got to be careful about serving his dinners outside... he's more likely to feed the cats than himself! the cats had taken to "stalking" him recently... ahhhh- it's all clear now!! too funny. ohh silly me.


tomorrow's monday- hope it's good week week for everyone... god bless.