74th Birthday!

Hugs from grand daughters

We celebrated mom's seventy-fourth birthday on May 7th. 
We sang her happy birthday as she cheered us on with delight. 
She did her happy dance after she had her cake and ice cream. 
We had a nice time.  She was happy and called out for hugs and kisses.
 

Josemeana

I named this blog Josephina Josemeana.  When I started blogging, I wrote about Josemeana, but lately I have not had much to say about her.  Who is Josemeana?

She is mom's alter ego.  That's what I call her when she is not her usual fun loving self.  Mom has many mood swings.  She is happy and then sad, or nice and then mean the next minute.  When she is mean, I say to myself, "That's just Josemeana."

I have not written about Josemeana because mom has been doing so well lately.  She still has her mood swings, but she is seldom mean.  She has just been nice, sweet, and loving Josephina.

It takes a village

It is good to have mom at home.  She has been here since February and she seems happy to be home again.  Even though she does not recognize us, she still remembers names and voices.  Taking care of mom is a lot easier now that I have help.  Mom has a home maker that accompanies her on week days.  She has a nurse that comes to see her once a week.  She also has her doctor who comes the visit her once a month.  She gets along fine with all of them.  It is nice to know that we all share a common interest.  We all want to make mom feel better.  She is really coming along well.  When I look at her walking around, dancing, and singing, it is hard to believe that she was bed ridden just 3 months ago.  I am grateful for all the help I have.  I have heard that it takes a village to raise a child, well the same is true for me.  It takes a village to keep mom strong and happy.

Happy Eating

Great news… Mom passed her video swallowing test.  She can eat now.  She has been eating and enjoying her favorite foods.  She loves oatmeal.  She now looks forward to every meal and she savors everything she eats now (mmmmmm).  She really did miss eating and she says she is hungry all the time.  She just loves to eat.  Happy eating Josephina.

Name of the Day

Every day mom calls out a name. I call it the name of the Day. The name of the day is usually Ana, Carmen or Teddy. These are her sisters. She calls her brothers too. “Lalito, Nesto, and Willy.” Sometimes calls her grandchildren. “Mario, Makeda, Lamda.” I guess the names just come to her.

While my brother was visiting, she called, "Nito?" because she heard his voice.  He answered, yes mom.  She was really surprised when he answered.  Throughout his visit she would call out his name.  He would answer and she would have the same reaction.  It was like a game.  It was fun to witness.  My brother just smiled at her.  When she calls his name now, I tell her that he went back home.  She says, "No, I just talked to him this morning."

About a month ago, mom called out my cousin’s name. This really caught me by surprise because I had not heard from him since we were young. She said his name clearly. “Luis Acosta”. I tested her, “Who is that?” She looked at me and said with confidence, “Luisito is my nephew”.

One week after mom called Luis's name, I received a call from him. I was so happy to hear from him.  We chatted for a while.  I told him about mom.  He told me his good news.  He is with his son, and that he is now saved.  I forgot to tell him that he was the name of the day. 

Special thanks to Luis.  He and his prayer group have been praying for mom.  God Bless You.

Singing

Mom just started singing,

“My country tis of Thee sweet land of liberty of thee I sing

Land where my fathers hmmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm

From every mountain side let freedom ring

Our Father God to thee hmmm hmmm hmmm

Of thee I sing hmmm hmmm hmmm

My country tis of thee hmmm hmmm”

I try to sing along. I have trouble remembering the words myself. She has forgotten the words but not the tune. She keeps on humming the tune.

Mom is back home

Mom is home again. After spending three months in the nursing home, mom was sent to the hospital with severe tremors and chills. At the hospital the doctors thought she had pneumonia. They told my sister and me that she was aspirating. Mom came home by ambulanceand. I was afraid that she would not walk for some time. Through lots of prayers from family and friends mom started walking on her third day home. She is now at home with me with a g-tube. She is still in good spirits. She loves to walk and still does a little dance to any music she hears. Her total nourishment now comes in cans. She does not seem to care that she is no longer eating. I have tried feeding her soft foods but she just lets the food stay on her cheeks. She is now busy walking all day long. I have to beg her to sit down and rest. I am happy that she is home again.


Thank you all for your prayers.

Nursing Home

Mom is now in a nursing home because of a sudden deterioration in her level of functioning.  I visit her everyday.  She does not seem to mind being there at all.  She has made friends with the nurses and the aids.  She greets them all with her smiley hi's.  They say that she even sings for them when I am not there.  The most fun thing at the nursing home is that mom has everyone doing her chickyty chickyty dance! 

In Tune

Josephina singing...."Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee
How great Thou art. How great Thou art...

She asks, "How was that?"
I say, "That was beautiful Mom"
She asks, "You like my signing?"
I reply, "I love to hear you sing. Sing again"

She sings, "Jesus is my Savior, Jesus is my Lord...
Lord of my day. Lord of my night. Lord of my everything and Lord of my life.."

"How was that?"

She keeps on singing in tune. Josephina loves to sing. I love to listen.

Mom got it right!

Mom's grand daughter (my niece) graduated from college today. We celebrated her graduation with a back yard barbecue. It was at my sister's home. The family was having a fun evening outdoors. It was great. All of a sudden, my sister started speaking and mom recognized her voice. Mom stood up from her seat and said, "That's my daughter Carmen speaking!"


My sister and I both froze with disbelieve and happiness at the same time. We looked at each other. I knew what my sister was thinking - that mom actually got it right. It was her daughter Carmen speaking. Carmen walked over to our mom and gave her a hug and said, "Yes, mommy its me Carmen" .

Mom has a sister named Carmen too. When mom says Carmen, she means her sister not her daugter. That why my sister and I were so shocked that she said, "my daughter Carmen."

I thank God for that small moment. It meant so much to Carmen and me.

Great grandson Jordin

Mom and her great grand son, Jordin have this love hate relationship. One minute she's hugging him, and the next minute she is chasing him away. Their interaction goes a little like this...

Jordin is hopping, bouncing in front of her demanding her attention, "Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!"
She is annoyed, "Leave me alone. Stop that."
He continues bouncing, "Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!"
She softens, "Yes baby, what is it".
Jordin is smiling at her, "Gimme kiss Grandma!"
Now she is smiling, "You want to give me a kiss?"
She looks at me saying, "You see this. He wants a kiss! He is something else. Come here".
She bends down to him. They hug and he gives her a kiss."
She says, "Thank you baby, God bless you. Now go play and leave me alone."

Who are you?

When mom asks, “who are you?” and I say, “Vicky”, she laughs and says, “that’s my daughter’s name. You look like my sister. Are you Teddy or Carmen? Ana, have you seen Mamita?”

What is this disease? It is a stealer of memories, eraser of thoughts, and scrambler of time.

I have been taking care of mom for 10 months. I take each day as a challenge, and pray for a miracle. Each day I am secretly hoping that my mom would somehow snap back into her life. Oh what a joy it would be if my mom wakes up one day cured!

Thank you

While visiting the alz.org website, I read that "Alzheimer's disease causes your loved one to forget, but your support and understanding will continue to be appreciated. "

This is absolutely true. Mom may not remember things but she never forgets to say thank you.

Hospital Visit

We went to visit my five year old grandson at the Children’s Hospital. He had an asthma attack and was in the intensive care unit over night. He was moved from the intensive care unit to a regular room. We visited with him all afternoon. When it was time to go home, we got to the elevator. I tried to get mom into the elevator and she refused to go.
“Let’s go mom”, I said while my son was holding the elevator door.
She asked, “Where”?
“Home”, I said.
To which she answered, “No, this is my home. I want to stay here. I don’t want to go.”
“Mom this is not your home. You came here to visit Justin in the hospital.” I replied.
“No! What‘s happening"? she asked looking mean and confused. "I don’t want to go”!
I knew that face. Josemeana was back.
I let the elevator go, and told my son to wait for us down stairs. I took a moment to collect myself. She was staring right through me with that mean face.
I tried to take her hand. She pulled away.
“It is time to go.” I said firmly. “Come with me.”
“But I don’t understand, what’s happening, I live here.” She whined.
I was confused myself. She was fine all day. Then it dawned on me. She must have had a flashback to when I visited her in the nursing home. I would always say goodbye to her at the elevator.
I tried again. “Mom, come with me”.
“But I want to go to bed I’m tired.” She whined
“Then come with me”, I said, “You can sleep at my house. I have a nice bed for you.”
“Ok”, she said still looking confused but not as mean. I took her hand.
“Ok”, I said while I thought to myself’, “Hurry up elevator before she changes her mind.”
We made it to the car and home without any other incident.
Josephina was happy to be home.

He takes care of me

Mom walked up to me while I was sitting on couch with my computer on my lap.
She said, “And how are you?” I said, “I’m fine. Come and sit with me for a while.”
She said, “Of course”.
I asked, “How do you stay so lovely?".
She answered, “Jesus takes care of me. That’s how”.
I said, “Yes, He always watches over of us, and takes care of us. “
She shook her head yes, and dosed of into her five minute nap.

Baby Sitting

While babysitting my two grandsons, I noticed that mom is getting used to being around them. She does not yell at them and tell them to stop when they are playing. She lets them hug her, and then chases them away when she has had enough of their hugs and kisses. The boys are getting used to being around great grandma too. They know when to approach her and when to let her be. Sometimes she takes their toys and coloring books away. They just look at me to handle it. I let her know that it is all right for them to use them and she gives them back their stuff. When she’s had enough of them, she wonders off to her room. A few minutes later, she would wonder back into the living and greet them like they just walked in. They start over again with the hugs and kisses, and then she’ll say, “OK, somebody come and take these children!”

Floor Patrol

Mom is always looking down on the floor and picking up anything she finds. Her favorite is shoes. She loves shoes. She would walk up anyone sitting on the couch and try to get the shoes off their feet. I simply apologize and joke that mom has a shoe fetish. When the kids leave toys on the floor, mom scoops them up. She puts the toys away, and I would find them in the most unusual places. If I relax on a chair with my shoes off, mom would come by and take my shoes. She would tuck them under the sofa coushons, or take them to another room. Sometimes I find stuff under her bed pillow. She has put shoes in the kitchen sink. Luckily I keep the toilet seats covered, because she likes to lay stuff on the seat. When anyone comes to visit I tell them that keep their stuff off the floor because mom is always on floor patrol.

Road Trip

My daughter put together a road trip. My son and his family, my daughter and her family, and my younger son, mom and I all got together for a road trip. All ten of us went to visit mom’s only son (my brother) in Houston. It was a long trip. Even though we were traveling with small children (my grandsons), I was more concerned about how mom would handle the trip. She was obviously uncomfortable during the trip. She fussed a little and did not sleep much during the trip, but all in all she did well. We arrived in Houston and checked in to a hotel.
Mom’s niece (my cousin) and her daughter had flown in Fort Lauderdale and met us at the hotel. Mom was so happy to see them. We showered and went to my brother’s home. Mom was so excited to see my brother. She just kept calling his name. My grandsons met my brother’s grandchildren and cousins for the first time. It was like they had known each other all along. My sister in law cooked and my brother barbequed. We reminisced on old times. We laughed, we ate, and mom danced to the music in the back ground. She had a ball. We all had a great time. I took mom back to the hotel early so she could rest. She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. She slept all night!
The following day was filled with more family magic and fun. We looked at old family photos and laughed at each other. It was great. Mom slept soundly again that night too!
It was great to have the family together. We had a great time together in Houston. We said our farewells and headed back home. On the trip back home mom was restless. She wanted out of the car. We were all relieved when we finally got home. We had a lot of fun on this trip. Next time though, mom and will take a plane trip instead of road trip. :-)

Spring forward

It's Spring! I love Chicago in the Spring. The cold chill of winter is behind us and the promise of bright cool days are waiting. There is so much that mom and I can do now. We don't have to be cooped up indoors. We can go for walks and feel the cool breeze on our faces. I can't wait to go to the nursery to get flowers and plants to brighten up the house. Mom and I have been doing a little spring cleaning (I clean, mom watches), and we are ready for some fun. I feel a spring in my step because this will be mom's first spring out of the nursing home. Come on Josephina its time to spring forward!

All dressed up

While helping my mom dress after her shower and she looked at the clothes laid out for her and she said, “Oh this is pretty. Is that for me?”
I flashed back to when I was a child and I remember how my mother loved to dress up. She took great pride on her appearance. Her hair was always done. She would set it in rollers at night, and let in curl into a pretty flip in the morning. She would get dressed and put on her makeup and bounce out to car where my sister, my brother and I would be waiting for her. My stepfather in the driver’s seat would look at her in admiration from the driver’s seat. She was beautiful.
As I look at her now in her elastic waist pants and sweat shirt, it’s hard for to imagine that this is the same person. Yet, she is the same person. To her she has not changed. She still likes to dress up, and she still feels beautiful. She loves compliments too. My mom is the only person I know that can really take a compliment. I mean if someone tells me I look nice, I would respond with, “You should have seen me earlier, I was a mess.” I can never say thanks and accept the compliment. Not Josephina. She loves compliments. I guess it’s because she knows that she is and always has been beautiful.
After getting dressed, I looked at mom and said, “You’re all dressed and you look beautiful.” Josephina says, “Thank you! I love these clothes. They are so pretty”.