The Dog Ate My Hearing Aid

I'm the Cute One in Pink

My mother called Monday morning.  Sadie had snacked on APR's hearing aid the night before when he took them out and put them on the coffee table.

The following is from the letter I wrote, for my father to give to the hearing aid company to send in to get his hearing aids repaired.  What can you say?

 July 25, 2012

To Whom It May Concern:

 On the evening of July 22, I removed my hearing aids and put them on the coffee table.  The following morning I discovered that my Bichon Frise, Princess Sadie, had snacked on them during the night.

 My wife rescued them, hoping they can be repaired.
Sincerely;
A. P. Reidhead

With luck, this worked.  They think the hearing aids are repairable.

This illustrates the larger problem - he's just putting things down - doesn't matter where.  MD is required to go around, after him.

We also stopped at Verizon.  The fixed his phone.  He's happy about that.


All rights reserved, SJ Reidhead

Foggy Day in Hondo Town

Birthday Boy, June 11, 2012

We need to face the fact that APR is failing.  This morning, he thought it was still evening.  He argued with MD over putting oil in his new lawn mower.  It is just one thing after another.  He must now be followed.  She can't let him out of her sight.  The responsibility is beginning to show, take its toll on her.

When we were in Tombstone, she rested.  I couldn't get over the difference in her appearance.  Now that we're back home, she's exhausted, again.

I feel so sorry for her.  You don't know what to do.

When he needs to go to the bathroom when he's out - she must make sure there is no other way out.  Big challenge.

He does better when he's slept, eaten well, and has some mental stimulation.  He doesn't follow television well.  There are times when he is in his own world.  Not having hearing aids makes it much worse.

All rights reserved, SJ Reidhead

Food Fight

Ricky Ricardo or APR?

Getting APR to eat is becoming a problem.  The morning of July 3, Cathy and I decided the problem was the fact that his taste buds have changed.  We've noticed that if he  eats something savory or spicy, he eats.  If not, he doesn't really do more than pick.

He also eats things that are sweet.

We've been "guiding" food selection, helping him decide to eat savory, spicy, or sweet and it is working!  He's beginning to gain back a little of the weight he lost.

Another small battle won, for now.

All rights reserved, SJ Reidhead

On the Road Again - Part II

Cathy Has Never Changed

We went to Tombstone on July 2.  Instead of stopping overnight, my mother thought we would try APR in one long day in the car, see what happened.  This is contrary to the way you are to travel with Alzheimer's.

He did fantastic.

By the time we reached Wilcox he was tired, sundowning, and doing his usual directional thing.  I stopped and got him a couple maps, which he used, obsessively.  The following day, when we were driving back from Sierra Vista, he decided to fold the paper map.  It was hilarious.  He was loud, fussy, and obsessive.  After 10 minutes he had it folded, perfect!  Cathy reminded me that he was always that way about folding maps.

That night we had dinner with Marge and Steve.  I had to push the parents to get them to leave before a heavy rain set in.  Didn't work.  By the time we reached the Larian, he had to go to the bathroom.  After a battle, he just got out in what was a 2 inch rain, getting soaked, to go to the br.  Gordon helped him into the room.  MD and I sat in the car for nearly 15 minutes waiting for the rain to stop.

He had a blast!

The more stimulation the better.

On the 5th, we went to Tucson.  He went to Mimi's for chicken pot pie.  My mother and I went to Louis Vuitton.  She bought Baby Cate her first piece of LV.

We've decided not to tell him about Cate until she makes her way into the world in November.  He would fret too much.

We drove back in one day.  He did fine!

All rights reserved, SJ Reidhead