Dementia + full moon = not a good day

If anyone has ever worked in a nursing home, you know that there are days when there has to be a full moon. The morning started out pretty quite. It all went downhill after that. One resident kept asking about a program that she thought was tonight, another was talking to her husband in California asking him when they were going to get their house??????? It truly is sad to see the effects of dementia on a person. They are trapped in their own mind, in a different time. There is no need to reorient them to the actual facts, they will forget in a minute or less. Somewhere you have to find a fine line to walk. You try not to lie, yet you can't tell them that their mother has died over and over again. You try to change the subject, sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. Both of my grandfathers died of a physical illness, one grandmother died of a stroke. I do have one grandma who is still living. She is the only grandparent that I have left, and she doesn't know me. To end the day, I received a phone call from a family member that you can never please. So, I grabbed a Reese Egg and called it a day. Days like today are the reason you can say that Long Term Care is a calling!

Precious Memories

For the past few days my grandma has really been on my mind. She passed away in September and I miss her so much. Maybe it is the upcoming Spring, which means flowers, which she loved! If I really think about it, everything I know I learned from her. She taught my mom, and then she taught me. I never heard my Grandma gripe about housework or cooking. She just did it. That right there is enough to learn! She was not a loud, mouthy lady. She was quite, very independent, loving, caring, had a green thumb that was out of this world, and a great cook!! I just wonder if she really knew how much she was loved. If only I could hear her tell me to "behave myself" again. Miss ya Grandma!