An up and down visit

I was able to visit mom and dad Sunday, March 15 until Wednesday, March 18. These were the last few days before her scheduled injection. During the visit, I noticed many different things about mom since I had last seen her in California. In areas of verbal communication and ability, she seemed to have regressed. She was unable to identify anyone by name the entire time I was there. Her vocabulary is still somewhat expanded from before her first injection, and she will say familiar things and names if you say them to her.

In other areas, I did notice behavior and abilities that I have not seen in a very long time. Due to rainy weather, my hair was a big fuzzy mess. Several times mom came up to me and tried to smooth it down and make it look better. In addition, she noticed and pointed out a large freckle of mine as though it bothered her in some way. She did this 3 or 4 times during my visit. During the course of the visit, mom was much more interactive and communicative (in a nonverbal way) than before. Several times, she handed me the tv remote and pointed to the tv to get me to change the channel. If I found something she liked, she would stay, otherwise she would leave the room. She consistently gave me nonverbal cues about things she wanted, and she appeared to me to be much more opinionated about the world around her than I have seen in quite a while. She was very affectionate and would periodically just walk up and hug me. When I helped her shower, she was able to take the shampoo and soap and use it appropriately without my help. In addition, she took the water nozzle from me and rinsed her own hair.

There were some other issues that mom had difficulty with in which she had not had any problems with for quite a while, but we are unsure if the specific instances had more to due with emotional reactions or distractions with me being there or some regression. Dad is continuing to be vigilant with her about these issues, and there appeared to be a return to normal after I left.

Dad took her the day after I left for her next injection. I look forward to hearing how she continues to progress. I am encouraged by many of the things that I saw.

Michelle