September 11, 2023

Well tonight I heard a noise and jumped up and ran to the bathroom - where John was peeing in the bathtub. I heard a similar noise this morning and that was John peeing as well. He was peeing in - and around - the toilet. So that's been fun. Then last week I was taking a bag of plastic bottles and cans to work (we recycle them and that provides a little money for our petty cash fund to buy things for the school). It smelled weird, and looked like there was tea in the bag. Turned out it was not-too-fresh pee. I keep the bag of cans and bottles in a trash can in the laundry room. Apparently he peed in that trash can recently... A couple weeks ago John fell in the bathroom. I saw it but couldn't tell what made him fall. I wonder if that might start happening a little more frequently. Typically he walks slowly and carefully. John didn't get up right away after the fall; it seemed like he was a bit horrified - not embarassed, but he seemed to be evaluating the extent of his injuries (there were none.) Then I brought a bench over to him and he used that to get up. I've been finding pills in the sink recently, so he sometimes spits them out after I give them to him. The strangest thing though is that he's often not swallowing his antidepressent. He'll swallow other pills, but not that one. I noticed he wasn't eating his breakfast a few times. Then I'd take him upstairs to brush his teeth and find that antidepressent still in his mouth. A solid hour after I gave it to him! So I'd brush his teeth, avoiding the pill, and then drop him off at EasterSeals with the pill still inside his mouth! So after that situation repeating itself, I decided to drop the antipressant and see how he did. Well I've noticed no impact at all, so we're done with that medication. I'm going to try reduce his seroquel soon too, to half his current dose. The Neurologist suggested that to see if it reduces his zombie-like behavior. So we'll try that next. She also suggested that we try eliminate an Alzheimer medication that typically doesn't work well after a year or so. I'll try that after the seroquel experiment is done. I try to not mess with more than 1 medication at a time. But getting him to swallow pills is difficult so if we can cut back on the pills without impacting his well being, then that's a win. It's become increasingly difficult to take John out in public. I've applied for a disabled persons placard to eliminate trouble in parking lots. The Neurologist said it was time and completed the forms. In general I don't think he needs it, but sometimes he'll refuse to get in the car and block the person next to us who is waiting to get out of their car. Or he refuses to move out of the driving area in the parking lot. So I guess it's a matter of better safe than sorry. On Friday night we stopped at Best Buy to replace a built in microwave that died too soon. For some reason it takes ages for their staff to input the order as well as the installation information. The woman helping us was very nice and I soon explained that John had Alzheimers because he kept walking off and I'd hustle over to bring him back to the counter where our order was being processed. She was facing the main part of the store, and my back was to it. At one point she said "He's getting a little far away" and I jumped up and ran after him. The whole process took about 45 minutes but I aged about a year! The woman was very kind though and as we left she made a point to wish me well and reminded me to take care of myself. In general I'm avoiding taking him out in public much of the time. Ben will watch him on weekends so I can run an errand. That helps a lot. And I can move a lot faster. This weekend my niece is getting married. They're are 2 days of events so I'll spend the night near the wedding location. 2 of John's sisters and a brother in law will stay with John while I'm gone. I'm really looking forward to the wedding as well as the opportunity to get away for a bit. I'll be fretting about John, but I'll also enjoy the break. On another note, the other morning I was making John some toast. He was watching me and all the sudden said "What the hell is that?" with a bit of a lilt in his voice. He said it like he might have in the old days, with kind of a funny tone and an emphasis on the word "hell". It made me smile.