Are We Entering a New Phase?

Before I begin, returning readers will notice the change in appearance of the blog.  I got tired of the old layout and since I am primarily a desktop user, I prefer this format much better.  I recognize that this might not be optimum for the half of our readers using a cellphone.  Please use the Contact Form and let me know what you think.

Things have gone really well for Pam for a couple of weeks now.  She has had many good days.  But I had this feeling of the 'calm before the storm'.  And now it looks like we may be entering a new phase.  For the past couple of days she has been extremely tired and spent most of the day on the couch snoozing.  Several times I have asked if she wanted to move to the bedroom where she would be more comfortable, but she declined.  Friday night, she went to bed about 8:30pm and slept until 5am in the morning.  That's about eight hours of sleep.   She got up, got dressed and sat on the couch and has been asleep ever since.  I have moved the hassock over to the couch to prevent her from rolling off.  It is called hypersomnia.  In my research of it, the doctor won't really do anything unless it has gone on for weeks.

Even on Wednesday, which was the day of the monthly Woods sisters luncheon, she was groggy and sleepy all morning.  I woke her about 11am and told her that her sisters would be here in an hour so that she could get dressed.  She was not a happy camper and made sure that I knew that.  But to my joy, when her sisters arrived, she perked right up and began socializing.  It was February 1st and it was her sister Loann's birthday.  Loann is the oldest, followed by Pam.  This month we added two new guests to the event.  One was Loann's childhood friend and the other was my sister.  So now I am cooking for seven instead of five.  I put the appetizers out and everyone sat down.  The chatter was pretty quiet and subdued.  By the time the main course came out the chatter was more about childhood memories and had gotten livelier.

There are six sisters (no brothers) all together.  Five live locally and sister Amy lives in Colorado.  So with the plates cleared, they made a video connection with Amy.  I brought out the birthday cake and lit the candles.  All the ladies sang Happy Birthday to Loann and she blew out the candles.   Another very successful Sista's gathering was behind us.  And the two new guests will be back again next month.  To me, there is nothing more important in life than family.  As we all get older and older, it is so easy to let the hustle and bustle of life distract us.  This monthly gathering is a superb way to keep the family bonds strong and let your hair down a little.  Hosting it is a good deal for me.  Most important, it gives Pam another avenue to socialize as the ravages of dementia march on.  I enjoy doing the cooking and it makes for a very entertaining afternoon for me.

 

Last week we had the video appointment with Pam's psychiatrist's office.   As I went through my list of issues, it became clear that we need to reconnect with the neurologist.  From this engineers perspective, the psychiatrist is focused on the touchy-feely issues (behaviors & emotions) associated with the brain, while the neurologist is focused on the stuff connected to the brain by the nervous system.   So Pam's Parkinsonian symptoms and sleep issues fall into the later.  We both felt much more comfortable with her psychiatrist managing her case than the neurologist, so we have not seen her in a year. 

I do want to clarify one thing from the last blog.  I talked about setting up a workshop in the garage and showed some of the work output.  In the interest of clarity, I did not create the buffet/hutch and end table.  I purchased them as unfinished furniture.  So my contribution was assembly and finish (paint & stain).  I am building five 3' flower boxes from scratch.  I bought some from a big box store last year and they were crap.  So this year I am making my own.   This is the prototype.  I plan to dado the end caps in place on the others.   When complete, they will be stained to match the deck and mounted between the posts.