This past weekend was an active one for mom again. Claudia and I brought her and dad to the movies on Sunday to see a World War II movie. I wasn’t sure if mom still enjoyed these movies or not but she was eager to go. She enjoyed the movie very much. Some of mom’s preferences for food and activities have drastically changed since the stroke which is common with a head injury.
As Claudia prepared mom for the movie, mom asked if she’s been to any other movies yet and Claudia said yes, she had been. Claudia then gave her a clue as to which other movie she had seen saying, “Meryl Streep was in it and she played a political woman in England named Margaret….” Mom said, “Oh yes, Margaret Thatcher.” Claudia couldn’t remember the name of the movie, but mom did (The Iron Lady)!!!
When we have brought her to the movies, we now get special hearing devices for the hearing impaired for her to use (you get them at the ticket counter). Mom loves using these and thanks us every time. The device looks like headphones and there is a small transmitter box attached to it that receives direct transmission from the movie (an auditory trainer of sorts). Since the stroke and aneurysm, mom has trouble filtering out background noise as well as selecting the correct person to focus on in a conversation (it is like an auditory sensory overload). It is also frustrating to see how many places, in 2012, are either not handicapped accessible at all (one of the local movie theaters in her town is not), or how many places think they have a handicapped accessible bathroom and don’t (some are too narrow, like the one we were in yesterday, while others are too small or don’t have the bars at the correct locations on the walls). Out in the parking lot, someone had parked in a ‘non-spot’ that covered the wheelchair ramp! Mom enjoyed the movie a lot though.
On Saturday, Claudia brought mom out to lunch with Claudia’s friends from work. They went to a local diner. Claudia wrote the names of everyone on a napkin, in the order they were sitting, and placed it in front of mom. This fully helped mom remember who was who. Mom knew all the women there and named 2 of the 3. Mom mistook the 3rd woman for a friend of theirs who had passed away. It was amazing that mom made that connection and remembered the friend who was deceased.
Mom has a tendency to ask the same questions over and over and over again, even though she sometimes knows and remembers the answers (I now ask her the question after I have answered it for her 2 or 3 times, and she remembers the answer). On Saturday at the diner, mom engaged in a repetitive theme rather than repetitive questions, which is progress. Instead of repeating the same thing over and over, she engaged in a repetitive theme which was much more socially and linguistically appropriate. She kept saying things like, “I have the best children” and “My kids are great.” She couldn’t remember what she ordered to eat (this is typical of her now) so Claudia wrote the information in a sentence and left it on the table in front of mom. This visual prompt really helped with her recall greatly.
Mom also walked to the bathroom with the walker for Claudia!!! This is big stuff! She usually only walks for Anthony. Anthony told her all about how important it is for her to walk more and for everyone. Mom must be listening!
Later on Saturday, Claudia asked mom if she wanted to go with her for a manicure and mom complained vehemently that she didn’t want to go. So Claudia asked her if she wanted to go to a park and relax and mom said yes. Once they arrived at the park, Claudia rolled mom to the edge of the lake and under some trees where there were some Adirondack chairs. Claudia told mom she was going to transfer her from the wheelchair to the Adirondack chair and mom did it (Mom is now a one person transport!!). As Claudia and mom sat under the warm breeze of the trees (mom under a make-shift blanket), relaxing, watching the water and ready to doze off, mom turned to Claudia and said, “What a beautiful day. Thank you for keeping me alive!”
“We appreciate what you've done in every way and in every place, and we want to thank you very much.” Acts 24:3
When we have brought her to the movies, we now get special hearing devices for the hearing impaired for her to use (you get them at the ticket counter). Mom loves using these and thanks us every time. The device looks like headphones and there is a small transmitter box attached to it that receives direct transmission from the movie (an auditory trainer of sorts). Since the stroke and aneurysm, mom has trouble filtering out background noise as well as selecting the correct person to focus on in a conversation (it is like an auditory sensory overload). It is also frustrating to see how many places, in 2012, are either not handicapped accessible at all (one of the local movie theaters in her town is not), or how many places think they have a handicapped accessible bathroom and don’t (some are too narrow, like the one we were in yesterday, while others are too small or don’t have the bars at the correct locations on the walls). Out in the parking lot, someone had parked in a ‘non-spot’ that covered the wheelchair ramp! Mom enjoyed the movie a lot though.
On Saturday, Claudia brought mom out to lunch with Claudia’s friends from work. They went to a local diner. Claudia wrote the names of everyone on a napkin, in the order they were sitting, and placed it in front of mom. This fully helped mom remember who was who. Mom knew all the women there and named 2 of the 3. Mom mistook the 3rd woman for a friend of theirs who had passed away. It was amazing that mom made that connection and remembered the friend who was deceased.
Mom has a tendency to ask the same questions over and over and over again, even though she sometimes knows and remembers the answers (I now ask her the question after I have answered it for her 2 or 3 times, and she remembers the answer). On Saturday at the diner, mom engaged in a repetitive theme rather than repetitive questions, which is progress. Instead of repeating the same thing over and over, she engaged in a repetitive theme which was much more socially and linguistically appropriate. She kept saying things like, “I have the best children” and “My kids are great.” She couldn’t remember what she ordered to eat (this is typical of her now) so Claudia wrote the information in a sentence and left it on the table in front of mom. This visual prompt really helped with her recall greatly.
Mom also walked to the bathroom with the walker for Claudia!!! This is big stuff! She usually only walks for Anthony. Anthony told her all about how important it is for her to walk more and for everyone. Mom must be listening!
Later on Saturday, Claudia asked mom if she wanted to go with her for a manicure and mom complained vehemently that she didn’t want to go. So Claudia asked her if she wanted to go to a park and relax and mom said yes. Once they arrived at the park, Claudia rolled mom to the edge of the lake and under some trees where there were some Adirondack chairs. Claudia told mom she was going to transfer her from the wheelchair to the Adirondack chair and mom did it (Mom is now a one person transport!!). As Claudia and mom sat under the warm breeze of the trees (mom under a make-shift blanket), relaxing, watching the water and ready to doze off, mom turned to Claudia and said, “What a beautiful day. Thank you for keeping me alive!”
“We appreciate what you've done in every way and in every place, and we want to thank you very much.” Acts 24:3
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