Hi Everyone, I have missed you so much
The twins are doing great with school but it seems my pre law student maybe changing his major to Pharmacy. My pre Vet student is doing fine. I visit my Mom about three times a week since she is living so close to me. She loves the dogs so I make sure I bring one each time I visit except for Phoebe. She is extremely bouncy and just Phoebe. Sunday when I went to visit her she asked me why I didn't bring the "cow" to visit her. At first I didn't understand what she was trying to ask of me. Then I figured out she wanted to see Phoebe. Well today I figured I would try it. I have to tell you Phoebe was made to be a vist dog for these people. I didn't believe it was my dog. She was so good. She walked next to the wheelchair let everyone pet her, didn't try to get on their laps. It was such a joy to see these people's face lighten up when they saw her. Such a rewarding experience. Everyone from the doctors to the patients were so excited to see a Sheepdog. I must have heard "you only see them on TV a hunder times. The patients had a hard time saying her name and she was called everything from see bee to peanut but each and every time someone bent down to get a kiss, she sat without me telling her and just licked away. The director asked me if I would mind going upstair to the patients that were extremely sick with the alzheimers. I keep praying Phoebe would be good, then said yes. When I proceeded to go up the stairs and she told me we needed to use the elevator I almost said no. But Phoebe just went into that elevator let the doors close and just sat. When we reached the second floor she walked next to me like a pro. I followed the director to the art room there were about 20 people in there with wheelcharis, in beds straped so they would not fall out and I could just picture her jumping up on the bed. I was so apprehensive to go in but did it. My dog was wonderful, I actually let go of the lead after a little bit and she just visited everyone. One man gave her a ice cube from his glass and was belly laughing like a little kid because she was eating it. One of the patients pulled the bow out from the top of her head and she even sat there for that. She was so good. We have set Wednesday as the day Phoebe visits the nursing home. I am not bragging to ya all about this but if you have the opportunity to do anything like this please do it. It was so rewarding for both myself and Phoebe. Of course I will tell you once we got home she was back to the normal Phoebe. I don't know why she was so good or how she knew she had to be gentle but she was I am so pround of her. Now I am going to catch up on all the news here. It is wonderful to be back. |
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It's good to hear that you are doing something you love. I also LOVE being a therapy team with Pearl. Hopefully, Heart will get her chance to become one in about a year. Good Luck!!!!!  |
| How wonderful! I'm determined to get Foz under control this spring so we could do some therapy. He makes me smile a million times a day and I can't imagine what he would do for people who are ill and without friends and family. |
I know exactly how you feel. I spent last week in SC looking at nursing homes vs assisted living places for my Dad. It's a terrible feeling a terrible thing to do. Currently all the "nice" places have waiting lists and you have to wait for someone to die to get a place  . I was able to hire some "temporary" round the clock help but am afraid the "temporary" will run out before a spot becomes available. In the meantime my Dad continues to refuse to come home with me.
How wonderful that you have found a good spot for your Mom. |
| Good girl Phobe!!! My mom has alzheimers (beginning) it is a horrible disease and your mom will be safer in a place that can watch her 24 hrs and attend to her needs. My Guinness is a certified Therapy dog and he can be wild at home but is a perfect angel when he is "working" They seem to know. We have a horse we did a therapeutic riding program with for years She would be a brat in the showring for us but when a handicapped child was on her back, they won everytime!!!! That is why God created these wonderful animals. Sheepdogs are so therapeutic , the touch of their hair is so tactile for the patients with dementia they just love to run their hands through the fur so do little kids. Phobe is a star!!!! |
It is so good to see you back. I am sorry you had to make this move with your Mom. but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to. Isn't it great that Phoebe did so well and now has a job on Wednesdays. You have been a "light" to many...keep up the good work!  |
| I always say "it's an ill wind that blows no good." You didn't want to put your mom in a facility but it's the right place for her to be, and by her being there, you are able to bring joy to so many others with Phoebe.
I hope you now have some free time to hang around here. You were missed! |
| That's so great that Phoebe was so good! I'm sure she'll bring lots of joy to the patients.
I'm sorry to hear about your mom, though. |
| Ginny looking for a home was terrible. I looked at places that cost 7000 a month that were terrible and others that were 4000 that were just as bad. I found the place she is in at the grocery store of all places. Part of my purchases were 3 packages of depends. While we were waiting for our turns we struck up a conversation. She has a Dad in the same home. She told me to stay away from the ones called "good places" and try the small ones in small towns. The place my mom is at has three area's, they have their own apartment less the ovens, with private handicap bathrooms, the patients get their own key for their rooms, in the wing my Mom is in. But she does have a nurse ( RN ) not a CNA that checks on her every hour. They bring the patients for Arts and Crafts, they have a little chapel where three mass's Catholic, Lutheran and Christian are said each Saturday and Sunday. The actually have a bowling league. They have long tables with small bowling pins and a small ball so the patients in wheel chairs just rool up next to the table and bowl away. They have a beauty shop inside and it's not a rip off only 15 for a shampoo set and style. On Tuesday's they have field day where they take the patients to lunch, Wal Mart, and grocery store. On Friday nights they have entertainment, this week they have a Dean Martin impersonator. Movie nights twice a week too. They have cognative games for them 4-times a day. Yet they were on 2745 a month. The down side is the place is not new. It is extremely clean the people are wonderful but they don't have the therapy pools, a very small exercise room etc. I actually went to 16 places without appointment before I met the lady in the grocery store. Thank God for her. My Mom still hates it and is just getting to the point where she talk's to other people but it is much better tham the temporary people I had coming into my house. I have horror stories on that including a 1200 phone bill with calls to Poland,diaper Rash and missing things.
I don't know why Phoebe was so good as I sit here and look at her outside determined to win tug of war with a tree branch still attached to the tree and wonder how she knew she had to be good with these people. |
| I know what you mean. I could not believe some of the places we looked at, I came home and wanted to throw up. The place we are keeping our fingers crossed for has a $135,000 "buy in" and a care charge of $4,000 a month. BUT it is clean anc new and cheerful. We are waiting to hear where he is on the list. |
| I understand completely how difficult, logistically/financially and especially, emotionally, to have to find a home for a parent. My mother suffered a serious stroke at age 42, and made a large, but not complete recovery. As she aged, unfortunately but predictably, she developed a progressive vascular dementia. After living with my sister for many, many years, we finally had to find a home for her when her safety became too great a concern to be addressed by the patchwork of care we had provided up to that point. I am sending you a hug and a shoulder, if you need one. It is really hard to do.
I absolutely understand why Phoebe is so good with these older folks with greater impairments: my dogs have always seemed to have a deeply ingrained sense of what people need, and are capable of. My biggest fear when my mother visited was that her unsteady gait and poor balance might cause her to trip over one of my dogs, causing an accident that would hurt her. No worries: even when Archie and Merlin were young, they knew to not walk in front of her or jump, no matter how excited they were to have company,without any promting from me. Instead, they would wait patiently for her to move through the room, and then lie quietly at her feet, raising a head to be patted, or playing a gentle game of tug. As a child and before her stroke, Mom had been very afraid of dogs. It was always amazing to see her calmly pet and stroke my huge guys. All of mine have been the same with disabled people, older folks, with children, with anyone they feel needs special consideration. They seem to instinctively gear their level of activity to what they judge those around them can tolerate. When Archie was about a year old and full of OES bounce, a family with 3 girls and a boy moved next door. The youngest girl was afraid of dogs, but overcame her fear when my guys quietly approached her for petting. The younger girls were in elementary school and often had friends over to play. Archie would let the girls hang onto the fur on his back and pull them up and down the sidewalk, on their rollerblades. He adjusted his speed according to the size and steadiness of the child. I was extremely impressed because he was still at the jumping up and exploding with energy/zero sense--so it seemed stage. Even Sophie, when she still did her best to pull my husband and me all over creation, quietly allowed a 6 year old girl to lead her all around, trotting contentedly behind her, looking as though she were in heaven. Dogs really are wonderful creatures. |
| It is amazing to me how they know. She is my first OES I always have had x large dogs St Bernards in fact and collies which are both extremely laid back I thought Phoebe had ADD the hardest dog I ever had to train but the most loving of all the dogs I have had. At the age of 3 now she is still bonkers loves to jump, run, quiet is not something she does. She still sleeps with a toy in her mouth most of the time.
I am going to look into the organization that does this to find out how to get her actually trained forthis work. She seems to like it a lot maybe it will rub off when she is at home |
I was diagnoised last summer with lupus CNS which for all intents is alzheimer's that is caused by the vasculitis from my lupus. The symptoms started about 2 yrs ago. I am only 50. I have had to retire from nursing, take Aricept and thankfully still have more good days than bad. I have had to relinquish all of our financial aspects to Bobby and when I'm having trouble searching for a word, completing a thought, forgot to turn off an appliance, etc...he has been great. He has always been a wonderful help around the house. I now thank God for his OCD  ( not really, just I've always been more laid back, he's very structured ). I know what is coming unfortunately, so unlike so many people with dementia that have no warning, I have tried to eliminate alot of his hard decisions. I have made it clear what my wishes are to my physicians in writing.
I came to this decision just after my diagnosis. My dad was suffering from lung cancer, he was end-stage, unable to care for himself. My sister, brother & I had a great plan for his care for the 5 years that he needed assistance at home, but the last 2 months he needed constant care. As a nurse I knew where he needed to be but still agonized over the decision. We were able to visit every day between the 3 of us and still it was hard, but knew in our hearts it was in his best interest. Know your decision for long-term care was the right one for her, and that maybe she saw something in Phoebe that was hidden. |
| They have just added Namenda to her pills. She has been on it now for 4 weeks and I do see some improvement. Nothing big but she remembers to put on her pants, something we were having a major problem with. She would put her bra and shirt on and a depends but not pants. I pulled out all of her old pictures from her childhood, she had 14 brothers and sisters and started cutting them into a 20 X 24 collage. When she was home we would work on who they were daily but she could not remember from day to day who they were. About 3 weeks into the Namenda added we went over the pictures the next day I would point to one and ask do you know who this is? She would tell me of course that is my sister Phyllis but there are still times when she forget. I have been working on another one now with just pictures of her as a child her wedding to my dad etc. hopefully I will done sometime this week and suprise her this weekend. My Mom is 88 this August and I hated to cut up old pictures but figured if it helps it's worth it. I have also invested in a lot of childrens wooden puzzles for her. The very last one that seemed to help is working with three little cups turned upside down. Like street vendors would use for gambling. She loves M & M's so we place two under one of the cups and move them around extremely slowly, she is so proud when she tracks the right cup. Time is her worse thing right now she see's me 4 times a week but forgets that I was there. When I go she is extremely mad at me because I didn't come to see her.
I am sorry to hear about your Lupus my old neighbor has that and she is very young also. You are in my prayers, they have to find a cure for all of this. I keep researching for anything that helps but it seems like Cancer, Aids research are the top priority. |
| I'm sorry to hear about your Mom. But the place she is in sounds wonderful.
Tell Phoebe to keep up the great work! |
| Welcome back! Sorry to hear about your Mom, it's always tough for everyone involved in that kind of situation.
Good job Phoebe  |
| Instead of cutting up precious old photos, could you find someone with a home scanner and scan and print pictures? Or even take some to a copy place and make paper photocopies (color ones if you want). I know how precious these pictures are. Those you won't feel so bad about cutting up. |
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