The Dementia Chronicles: Head & Shoulders (knees and toes, knees and toes)
I managed to take care of Mom duties while fighting the flu across two weekends but by the second weekend my flu had turned to infection on me and I would up in urgent care with one left eye infection, one left ear infection, a sinus infection, the beginnings of bronchitis and just for kicks and giggles one cold sore on my upper left lip in that one spot that I get cold sores and it was going for broke and swelling. I came out of urgent care with six prescriptions and told this would be three weeks to recover from - so I'm really still recuperating here).
This last weekend I went for my usual Saturday visit a bit behind schedule. I allowed myself to loiter in bed just a bit. And it was raining so my speed was on the cautious side. When I arrived in Eudora I stopped to write the check out for the city utility bill (water/trash/sewage/electricity) and drop it off. Also wrote out the check for lot rent and stopped by the bank to deposit a check from a banking snafu because somewhere along the line with the county property tax folks and their bank the check went through at $500 more than it should have and they sent a check to me for the difference. So it needed to be deposited back into her checking account.
I tell you all of this because with those minute delays I found my mother walking up the hill on 10th Street bound for Casey's General Store. I stopped and tried to get her into the car. But no. She HAD to go to the 'store.' I'm learning here so I let her go (it was not raining in Eudora for which I am grateful), went down and dropped off the rent check, got her mail and swung back around and went to Casey's to save her the walk home. She was still there with a carton of milk and a Little Debbie cake. I drove her home and we had the usual discussion of going to the grocery store. (I don't think I need anything at the store. Yes, you do. It won't take long and we need to pick up your prescription. I'm not on any prescriptions..... you get the idea.) Once she decided she needed asprin (this tidbit will go somewhere) she was game.
So we stopped by the pharmacy. Then we went to the grocery store where we took our usual trek through the market and got her aspirin and headed home. The entire time I am with Mom she keeps reaching down her shirt and rubbing/digging at her chest. I ask her what's wrong. She gives me fill in responses. When we get home I make her show me her chest. It was bright red with some bumps and scared the heck out of me. I declare we are going to urgent care. My tone must have indicated that there was not going to be arguing with me on this one because we unpacked the groceries and she did a bit of grumbling but went along.
After a 1.5+ hour wait (it's urgent care, it's cold/flu season and we are walk-ins. They are booked solid. I expected a wait). Mom doesn't wait well anymore. She kept asking how long? (Mom, we're walk ins we have to wait our turn) Why are they going before us? (Mom, they had an appointment)? She was antsy. After a while couldn't sit still. Attempted to 'read' a magazine (flipped through it fast and put it down). I felt for her (whille reading a book on my phone via kindle app).
They finally call use back and the nurse says 'oh you do have a red mark.' Uhuh meaning I was dead on right to haul her to urgent care. I had been telling her not to rub at it (but it makes it feel good). The nurse told her not to rub at it because if it's infection she could be spreading it around. While taking vitals they weighed her. She's lost about 6 lbs (or a lb a month) since seeing her primary in mid-June. The doctor sees her. he also tells her to stop rubbing and touching it because he thinks it's an allergic reaction and the rubbing is making it worse/spreading it. He sends two 'scripts to the pharmacy in Eudora (1 pill, 1 cream) and recommends that I make an appointment with a dermatologist for her (still on my to do list).
During her explanations (the best she can come up with and I can determine something happened when she did yard work, which wouldn't surprise me one bit) she kept saying she was putting hand lotion on it. She said it happened a couple of weeks ago - but in the mind of dementia where time is warped that could be two weeks, two days or two months.
So we leave, stop by the pharmacy again and I take her home. At home, she picks up a bottle and says to me see I put lotion on it. I stare at the bottle. A white bottle of Head & Shoulder's shampoo. I tell her that's shampoo. To which she responds, "But it says head and shoulder's."
Ya know. I really could not argue with that logic. I could put myself in her shoes, with her memory issues, standing in the aisle at the grocery store looking for hand lotion and picking out head and shoulders among the array of stuff on the shelf and assume it was hand lotion.
I'll be bringing appropriate lotion for her next visit and making one of my nifty vanishing tricks with the offending shampoo bottle (meaning it will be leaving the house without her seeing me do it) next visit.
This last weekend I went for my usual Saturday visit a bit behind schedule. I allowed myself to loiter in bed just a bit. And it was raining so my speed was on the cautious side. When I arrived in Eudora I stopped to write the check out for the city utility bill (water/trash/sewage/electricity) and drop it off. Also wrote out the check for lot rent and stopped by the bank to deposit a check from a banking snafu because somewhere along the line with the county property tax folks and their bank the check went through at $500 more than it should have and they sent a check to me for the difference. So it needed to be deposited back into her checking account.
I tell you all of this because with those minute delays I found my mother walking up the hill on 10th Street bound for Casey's General Store. I stopped and tried to get her into the car. But no. She HAD to go to the 'store.' I'm learning here so I let her go (it was not raining in Eudora for which I am grateful), went down and dropped off the rent check, got her mail and swung back around and went to Casey's to save her the walk home. She was still there with a carton of milk and a Little Debbie cake. I drove her home and we had the usual discussion of going to the grocery store. (I don't think I need anything at the store. Yes, you do. It won't take long and we need to pick up your prescription. I'm not on any prescriptions..... you get the idea.) Once she decided she needed asprin (this tidbit will go somewhere) she was game.
So we stopped by the pharmacy. Then we went to the grocery store where we took our usual trek through the market and got her aspirin and headed home. The entire time I am with Mom she keeps reaching down her shirt and rubbing/digging at her chest. I ask her what's wrong. She gives me fill in responses. When we get home I make her show me her chest. It was bright red with some bumps and scared the heck out of me. I declare we are going to urgent care. My tone must have indicated that there was not going to be arguing with me on this one because we unpacked the groceries and she did a bit of grumbling but went along.
After a 1.5+ hour wait (it's urgent care, it's cold/flu season and we are walk-ins. They are booked solid. I expected a wait). Mom doesn't wait well anymore. She kept asking how long? (Mom, we're walk ins we have to wait our turn) Why are they going before us? (Mom, they had an appointment)? She was antsy. After a while couldn't sit still. Attempted to 'read' a magazine (flipped through it fast and put it down). I felt for her (whille reading a book on my phone via kindle app).
They finally call use back and the nurse says 'oh you do have a red mark.' Uhuh meaning I was dead on right to haul her to urgent care. I had been telling her not to rub at it (but it makes it feel good). The nurse told her not to rub at it because if it's infection she could be spreading it around. While taking vitals they weighed her. She's lost about 6 lbs (or a lb a month) since seeing her primary in mid-June. The doctor sees her. he also tells her to stop rubbing and touching it because he thinks it's an allergic reaction and the rubbing is making it worse/spreading it. He sends two 'scripts to the pharmacy in Eudora (1 pill, 1 cream) and recommends that I make an appointment with a dermatologist for her (still on my to do list).
During her explanations (the best she can come up with and I can determine something happened when she did yard work, which wouldn't surprise me one bit) she kept saying she was putting hand lotion on it. She said it happened a couple of weeks ago - but in the mind of dementia where time is warped that could be two weeks, two days or two months.
So we leave, stop by the pharmacy again and I take her home. At home, she picks up a bottle and says to me see I put lotion on it. I stare at the bottle. A white bottle of Head & Shoulder's shampoo. I tell her that's shampoo. To which she responds, "But it says head and shoulder's."
Ya know. I really could not argue with that logic. I could put myself in her shoes, with her memory issues, standing in the aisle at the grocery store looking for hand lotion and picking out head and shoulders among the array of stuff on the shelf and assume it was hand lotion.
I'll be bringing appropriate lotion for her next visit and making one of my nifty vanishing tricks with the offending shampoo bottle (meaning it will be leaving the house without her seeing me do it) next visit.