catching up on news

Wow! didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted. So now, do I start with the fun stuff or the not so fun stuff? If you have looked at my profile you will see that I follow a lot of blogs and although I don't read them on a daily basis I do take a peek now and then. Somewhere on one of them I saw a hand stamped necklace with the phrase "There is joy in the journey" and it was discounted! (yippee!)  I really liked it and knew that that was the attitude I wanted to have about the journey we are on, so I purchased it to remind myself to look for joy everyday. Now, I have to say that is the hardest thing to do! The necklace came with two beads dangling from it and they are always clicking against the stamped tag, its almost as if they purposely make the noise to remind me to look for the joy. So based on that I will give the not so fun news first to move on to the good stuff!


To recap: Dave has had some difficulty with the medications that are meant to help with the dementia.  The first medication made him really sick, the second med was doing well while he was on the low dosage, but when he was placed on the maintenance dose, which is a higher mg., he started to experience some bad side effects. The third medication just didn't work at all. Even Dave voiced how he didn't feel motivated to do anything, (on the previous med he was painting and reading again) and I noticed he was having a harder time putting sentences together and forgetting more than usual. So now we are on his fourth medication. We are to give it at least 2 weeks and according to the dr we will know if it is doing the job or not. Where is the joy? Well, we look at it this way, there is now a medication that can slow down the progress of the dementia. This gives us more time together. Where would we be if there was no such medication?? I am not saying we don't worry about what could happen if none of the medication works but we choose not to dwell on it and concentrate on the good stuff. We ask that you pray for us to find the right medication and that Dave doesn't experience any more side effects.


Okay, so now to some good stuff! A few weeks ago, (or maybe longer) Linda (my sister) and Fran came down for a visit. They were only here for the day but it was a lot of fun! The weather cooperated and although it was a little cold the sun was shining!!! We didn't do anything but talk and eat! We caught up on other family news, and discussed how much roomier the house looked without the chairs (see earlier post) and talked about who knows what else! I made some chicken soup, salad, and chocolate cake! Then it was time for them to leave. That was a happy/sad time....hated to see my sister leave! Hopefully things will work out and she can come back in the spring/ summer and stay much longer! My family doesn't live far (Grandview) but since we all know how unpredictable the weather is (in our part of the country) and how life can be, it can seem like too many miles away. The bad part is I didn't get any pictures! Too busy talking I guess.


Just about a week or so ago, Pam and Roberta (Dave's sisters) came for a visit. They were here for a few days and it was so good to have them here. It really lifts Dave's spirits when family comes.  I hope that coming out here, they live in California, helps them put into perspective how Dave is doing. Unfortunately for me I was a little under the weather and don't feel as though I was on top of being prepared. Adam, Michelle and girls came to visit also. It has been a long time since Adam has had the opportunity to visit with his aunts. 

Michelle, baby Izzy, Roberta, Adam, Pam, Autumn, Dave

Unfortunately, Dustin and Brittney were unable to come down....hopefully the next time. Dustin did talk with them on the phone and I will put Skype back on the computer,(hopefully it won't crash my computer again) so if need be they can at least skype each other.  Thanks again Michelle for helping me get dinner on the table. I have been blessed with three wonderful daughter-in-laws. Dave will be having the big 6-0 birthday this year so maybe they can all come back in October and help us celebrate!! Since we all know that all good things must come to an end, it seemed too soon for Pam and Roberta to go back home.  Dave rides a roller coaster when we have visitors. He is anxious for the visit (a good type of anxiousness) and then has a big let down when its over.  The emotions seem grander, almost like a child's.


It seems that for a few weeks we were living our "before" life....you know "before the diagnosis"......then all of a sudden reality sets back in and we have to get busy again putting our lives in order to prepare for the future. I do have to say that there is no more procrastination going on! I have been organizing and purging like crazy. These are task that I was supposed to do when I became a "stay at home mom" but lets not discuss how long ago that occurred! (see the joy in that statement?!)  


We have all heard the phrase,"it takes a village",well, for me it is not a village but a small "community" known better to us as our care group.  It is so hard to put into words what a wonderful blessing these people are. When I have a melt down from the over whelming feelings they are so sweet to listen,encourage,love and pray for us. They give us a helping hand by brain storming with me and connecting us with names of people who can help. They have helped in so many other ways; there is someone who I am sure would prefer for me to not mention it but she has brought us a couple of meals and were they delicious! She brought them at just the right time unbeknownst to her on days when I had not put any thought into dinner. We are grateful that Dave has a group of people whom he is relaxed around and he can enjoy himself and not feel conspicuous around when he has moments of forgetfulness.  Some time when our families come to visit I want them to meet our Godly family, I want our families to see that God is taking care of us,when they are so far away, through these wonderful people. What better joy can there be!

Monica