I LOVE YOU TOO!

It has been a very emotional week.
Our Son flies into Edmonton, Alberta from Phoenix, Az. every Thanksgiving weekend to visit his dad.
Lewy is beginning to take up more and more of Steve's time. For the first two hours of the visit, he came and went like a revolving door. It was this way for most of the weekend.
Jeff was flying into Edmonton and out of Calgary in order to get a quick visit with his  sister and brother-in-law who live in Okotoks. Our plan was to spend a couple of hours before heading south. I finished feeding him his breakfast and took him to the lounge. Our son Jeff, talked with him, bringing up good old memories, like where we were when we heard Elvis died. We got an emotional response from that, which gave us some indication that he was with us. Jeff read from the Bible and prayed with him and again there were little rays of responses coming through. Within a few minutes he left with very little sign of returning for awhile, as he seemed to fall into a deep sleep.

I came back today at lunch hour and his responses were very positive. I knew he recognized me and wanted to say something, which I only understand as a mumble.

The Telford singers ( a choir of 40 some voices), were coming to perform later. I fed him his lunch and we went to the lounge for the performance. Steve is very musical, however he has shown very little response to music as of late. Today it was different. He was emotional through every song which also made me a basket case!!

The group sang the song 'I love you to,' by Tom Hall.
It just made life so simple, and full of pleasure at that moment that I want to share it with you:

I love little baby ducks
Old pick-up trucks
Slow moving trains and rain
I love little country streams
Sleep without dreams
Sunday School in May and hay
And I love you too.

I love leaves in the Wind
Pictures of my friends
Birds of the World and Squirrels
I love coffee in a cup
Little fuzzy pups
Bourbon in a glass and grass
And I  love you too.

I love honest open smiles
Kisses from a child
Tomatoes on the vine and onions
I love winner's when they cry
Loser's when they try
Music when it's good and life
And I love you too!

What a beautiful view of life!!

YOUR LOVED ONE'S BOSS

Doctors, neurologists, mental health nurse, home care; are all there to serve you and your loved one.
Don't be afraid to ask questions.
Good family doctors usually know the bases of many diseases and are skilled at knowing when to refer you to specialists.

Depending on the age of the individual, it is just not good enough to have your loved one assessed by having them draw the hands on a clock, count backwards in three's starting at 100, remember the objects, etc..

Some 10/12 years ago when the neurologists called up and said; according to the symptoms he is showing, your husband has Lewy Body dementia. My response was silence, and his response was, " you more than likely have not heard of this dementia." And my response was, "no I have never heard of such."

I went immediately to the internet, and came up with a wealth of information. I passed some of this information along to our family  doctor who seemed almost as unfamiliar with the term as I was. I gave him some information I had copied from the Mayo Clinic and The LBDA and he was happy to take them.

The best advocate for your loved one is YOU. Your are the boss and the health care professionals are  a part of the team. Educate yourself. If you feel that there has not been a proper diagnoses than you need to advocate for more tests

While I highly respect the staff at the Extendicare from the laundry to the manager. I am the boss in terms of my husband's care and I don't say that disrespectfully and neither do I abuse my boundaries.

Arm yourself with knowledge for KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.