No light in the tunnel but I seem to have found a flashlight

Hi everyone. There are new and exciting things happening with Joyce that I need to share before a "senior moment" erases it all. Before the last injection I was seriously considering going to a two week/ three week cycle because I was having difficulty with Joyce during that third week. Well, as soon as I have it all figured out Joyce decides its time to mess with me and her third week was actually better than the first two. In addition, I have seen more good things the last three to four weeks than I saw the prior two months. Little things, things you wouldn't notice or recognize if you were visiting. I have related before how Joyce likes to walk. She reminds me of the first Mike the Tiger and how he used to pace the same route over and over again. She will start at the back door, traverse through the carport and down the driveway to the street, then turn around and retrace her steps all the way back to the back door. She will stick her head in looking for me then start over on another round trip. The exercise is good for her and it seems to calm her down when she walks a lot. As long as she is coming back, my philosophy is to let her walk freely. However she almost never closes the door which causes th A/C to run all the time. I close it everytime I can but she seems to like it open. On Tuesday I actually got her to close it 5 or 6 times. It has been over a year since she closed the door.
We received cards from her sisters Ann and Joan. She looked at the envelopes and said "Ann Leblanc" and "Joan Cocke" even though Joan had not written Cocke on the return address. She still knows those names.
In the grocery store the other day I asked her to put the empty basket up as we were walking out and she pushed it around the corner to where the buggies are kept and stowed it properly. She has not touched a basket in almost 2 years.
I went yesterday to get her hair done and she basically just sat there with her leg crossed for almost an hour. She usually is constantly trying to get up and walk around.
While to some observers these may seem trivial, to me, they are significant indicators that her disease is regressing and she is actually becoming better. I have resigned myself to the fact that fixing the aphasia will take a true miracle but with parts of the disease regressing I will be able to keep her here at home for a long, long time.

Thanks for all of your support

PAL

Three steps forward two steps back

It has been a while since I posted. That is a good thing. My last post indicated that I thought I was having problems with Joyce during the third week. Remember that word patience?? I needed to be reminded this week. During this third week I have found Joyce more attentive and responsive than I have in prior like situations. I see her even doing things that she quit doing a year ago. To me a definite indicator that the injections are still helping her return to more normal actions. I don't hold a lot of hope for a full and complete recovery. I think her aphasia may be too much to overcome, however, my goal right now is to be able to keep her at home for the rest of her life and with these injections, I feel that it is a very good possibility. As I said I am constantly seeing snippets of improvement. maybe only two every three weeks but over a year that will become a lot. Joyce is as healthy as can be. she shows none of the classic wobble etc associated with Alzheimer's. She loves to walk our driveway, back and forth, back and forth. I am sure that all of you second guessers are horrified that I let her do that alone. Well I have been with her 24/7 for the last four years. Who better knows what she will do , ME, or some article in the New England Medical Journal. To me she is as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning. Certainly , there are times I restrict her but not because of some statistical warning of AD patients taking off. Joyce is very cognizant of her suroundings. She is also very attached to me. She will go where I go or if in the driveway keep coming to the back door to look for me then back out for another lap. She definitely enjoys her freedom and I no problem in many circumstances letting her have it. I believe it is helping her, you believe what you want but until I experience a problem I am not changing anything.
There is one area that has gotten worse. I have to keep "depends" on her 24/7. It is like she found out she doesn't have to go to the bathroom and quit trying not to wet them causing an occasional leak through problem, I still make her undress herself, dispose of the wet "depends", put on a new one and re-dress herself. At present I am going through about five per day. I feel as if we are taking three steps up and two steps back. At least I see progress. I know I will need help but I don't want strangers handling Joyce. I will use help when I feel they care for Joyce like I do. I won't just allow someone to come in and do "chores" on her. There are many people in the AD outreach programs who can and will help. I will find what I need there. We go back to Lake Charles for another injection this Thursday (8/20). Thanks for all the prayers and support.

PAL

From "Deaf" to seatbelt

Near the end of the three week cycle Joyce has a tendency to get slightly "deaf" and less responsive. I think she hears fine but is just headstrong in what she is doing and ignores me.If I wait a while she usually comes around to doing what I wanted to in the first place. I am certain I mentioned in an earlier posting about patience. If you have none you had better go buy some quickly.I am beginning to see her last injection kick in. She is more responsive and will comply with simple requests. Sometimes I think she senses more than she shows or at least acts according to the situation. I have been under the weather since yesterday. Joyce has not been a problem and has been somewhat maintenance free. Joyce is about 70% functional. She can dress and undress herself as long as I lay out the clothes. She can brush her teeth but doesn't do as well with her hair. She puts on and takes off her jewelry which include pendant and chain, two rings, earrings, bracelet, and watch. She will put on and take off her own shoes and tie or strap as needed. She eats on her own but can't prepare food anymore. She can get her drink from the refrigerator and unscrew the cap as well as put back part of it if she doesn't empty it. She can help put up clean dishes and go to, enter and belt up in the car if we are going someplace. Joyce has aphasia which means she cannot convey her thoughts orally. She can parrot many things or read something and say it out loud.She can also sing along with songs she has heard before such as "the battle hymn of the republic" which we have on a Lee Greenwood CD that I play in the car. Her body language and her actions tell me she sees and understands more than she is given credit for due to the inability to speak in a conversation. Enbrel is holding her up until a new med is found. I am patiently waiting for it.

Joyce is always a happy person and is always ready to go. I have to be careful what I say so I don't push her travel button or she will be out the door before I realize it. This is life in the fast lane of AD. There are millions who are far less funtional than Joyce. She and I are some of the lucky ones.

Thanks to all of our supporters

PAL