Exercise class this morning, Carol, our animator was explaining how to turn our heads slowly to the right and to the left...I said to Mac, see just kind of do what I'm doing, see I'm sticking my chin out...and he answered - o.k. and I'll just punch it. Well that sent me into a kind hysterical laughter. when I explained to Carol, she said, "he sure still has his sense of humour" he most certainly does.
This, though is up and down just like his health, his eating, and understanding of others. His former caregiver and her boyfriend were visiting today, I'm sure they wished he would remember them but again this is something that even the people that work with him every day wish for - but it's not going to happen. Every nigh Abedul, the preposee who works with Walter, getting him ready for bed; stops when he comes into their room - shakes hands with Mac saying, do you remember my name - so many times I've said, really Mac does not remember names and it's rather frustrating for him to try. But he persists on saying his name, then adding I'm your friend. I think this is really nice of him, but it's just not in the cards.
I can think of two people a man whose wife has the big A and a woman whose husband has it, and both these people are devastated that their spouses do not remember them - so to speak. Both have cut down their visiting times to two or three times a week, finding it rather pointless to visit when the spouses in question do not recognize them. This is really sad, I can see so often how lonely and pathetic are the patients on the second floor. How they reach out for me as I go with Mac, how they wave and want me to stay with them. They do not know my name, , they just need someone to care for them. Even, the three women who roam the floor in their wheelchairs, are always looking for someone - and as I pass they reach out for me - one in particular is the one who followed us into the elevator. In fact she did it again today, this time Mac's former caregiver Helen, tried to push her out of the elevator, I managed it. Poor Helen thought she was responsible for her coming on the elevator as she waved to the woman. Actually she always follows Mac wherever he goes.
If I do not tell Mac to stay in his seat when I leave, he will wander around looking for me. The nurse says she tells him you can walk around, but sit down and take a rest too. When I come in he always says where were you I was looking for you. So, must remember to tell him keep in your chair, I will be back much later, so rest awhile and we will go for a walk later. Will check that out tomorrow as I have to go for a short time to the shopping center. It makes me nervous to think that he will be walking around looking for me and could possibly fall, especially with "yella yella, chasing him in her wheelchair. He is still not all that stable when he walks.
It is also apparent that he is having more difficulty expressing himself, he wants to say so much and kind of gets it garbled. Again, though I have to remember that things change from day to day. Right now his appetite is great, eating well, and seemingly quite content, joking in his own way as in when he gets up I give him my two hands, so when he is finally standing there holding my two hands he says - wanna dance, and starts boogying. He did this with a couple of the preposees who were so excited, I guess they passed the word on, so tonight one of the preposees said, Will you dance with me now. He looked so surprised...of course he can't remember that he danced with anyone, and so it goes. Tomorrow is another day, and we'll see what happens then. For sure though I'm not going to stick my chin out. ha.
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