I realized today after looking at my blog, it has been two years since I gave an update on Grandma. Nothing has really changed. She is living it up in the nursing home. Her family has come to visit her off and on throughout the year. She doesn't recognize us as much as she did before. You can tell she is starting to go in the last stages of Alzheimer's. She has this blank look on her face and is often caught staring into space as if she isn't thinking of one thing. I often drift off into this blank space, but I am usually thinking of something I have to do. Every time I see her, I wonder what she is thinking.
They still let her sit behind the nurse's station and pretend she is working. She still goes into random rooms looking for her man. One thing she did that we found very interesting. Her roommate passed away. She called her mama. Ms. Mary would get on to her if she started fussing. She would tell her to go to bed. She kept an eye on Grandma. When she passed away, Grandma refused to stay in that room without mama. She moved herself to another room. She stays in a wheelchair now for preventive measures. Using her wheelchair, she moved a few things into her new room and made herself at home. The nurses realized what she was doing and finished moving the rest of her stuff for her.
They eventually got her a new roommate. Her new friend doesn't speak and has a trouble hearing which makes her the perfect roommate for Grandma, because she still goes on her yelling sprees and lets the entire place know she is going to break out. She still finds a man to crawl in bed with every once in a while. She gets caught and the nurses make her return to her room. Can I just say, I find this to be the funniest thing with my grandmother. She was very loyal to my grandpa. If you knew her, then you know she would be mortified if she was in her right mind. I like to think that she thinks everyone is "Ellis" and she is constantly looking for the right "Ellis".
So, that is the update. Not really much has changed. I don't get to see her as often as I would like because my life has gotten busier. It is also so hard to go see her in the state of mind that she is in. I know Cancer and other life-threatening diseases are hard but sometimes you have hope they will recover. You usually have some kind of time span of how long you have with your loved one. They are usually able to take care of themselves to some degree as well. With Alzheimer's, you have no idea how long you have. They look healthy. They can still do things, but the downside of them becoming combative, scared and not knowing is the hardest to go through with them. There is no reasoning with them. You have to become a part of their world instead of being in reality.
My dad who took care of her 24/7 is retiring this week. He is almost 71 years of age and finally decided now would be a good time to take a break. Before she went to the nursing home, I think he was scared that he would be stuck at her house all day, and that is why he took so long to leave. Now that he knows she is in good hands, he felt good about the change. He went to work for the company when I was a year old. 44 years later, he is going to finally get a good vacation. Prayers for my mom as she has to retrain him and keep him from driving her crazy. :)
One last thing, Grandma still loses her teeth often in the nursing home even with her name on them. They lost one set and had to get a replacement. Thank goodness I took her to Bryant that day and they have her records on file. Think about this, you have 100 people in the nursing home. Many do not have the mindset to think clearly. Most have false teeth. I guarantee Grandma is not the only one who loses her teeth. I am so grateful that it is no longer my job to go find them. No telling whose teeth I would find!!! Honestly, I miss those nights with her and all the craziness that came with it.
