Backing Out of Time
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Over a three-year period, this intimate film balances the honest emotions and real concerns of five diverse families as they navigate a new and often sudden terrain — that of caregiving. From early uncertainties to the realities of day care (emotional frustrations, financial obstacles, and lifestyle changes), the film captures these families in the throes of caregiving — laying bare both the rewards and the challenges. The film also shares insights from the persons living with dementia, as well as, the children and spouses who are impacted by changes to the family unit. Interspersed with information to better understand the symptoms and effects of Alzheimer's, and feedback from care professionals, this film is an upbeat look at the adjustments and compromises these families make as they learn how to care for their loved one with Alzheimer's. A great film to share with professional caregivers, or anyone who (or will be) caring for a loved one at home.
Citation
Main credits
Katzke, Mary Rosanne (film producer)
Katzke, Mary Rosanne (film director)
Other credits
Director of photography, Nara Garber; editors, Taylor Segrest, Paula Halton.
Distributor subjects
No distributor subjects provided.Keywords
WEBVTT
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[music]
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I don\'t think I can draw
with my right hand.
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Okay, you can give it a try. Give
it a try today. With my right hand?
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With your right or left, whichever you prefer. I
don\'t wanna draw with my right because I can\'t.
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Alright, I would… I would draw
with your left then. Look at that.
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What is this art made? So this
is… its… its called earth links.
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Think it is a theme and you just paint.
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What we know about people with dementia
is that you don\'t become someone else,
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you just become more yourself. If who
you really are is a happy person,
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then you\'re going to be happy. If you\'ve
been a somewhat sad or silent person
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perhaps you\'re going to be silent or sad. Every
person who has dementia has a different experience
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so the best way that we can serve people
of any age is to tailor their care,
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individualize their service to
what is truly important for them.
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[music]
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Well, her mother still insists
(inaudible) her father.
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How do you feel your memory is these days?
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It has something to be desired.
I don\'t remember what it is.
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Give me a five. Come on.
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I cannot take those retirement homes yet.
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Not old enough.
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We all, I keep (inaudible)
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but she doesn\'t show it and I
hope I don\'t show it too much.
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[music]
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You are not the mom I remember certainly but I
don\'t think I have any doubt of her affection.
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In my later years my hopes are that
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I live 100% completely healthy
and get hit by the beer truck.
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I think what we\'re talking
about here is quality of life.
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We know that dementia is a terminal disease
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but in experiencing the disease what do
we all long for? We long for comfort,
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we long for solace and we long for peace. So even
though we can\'t change the trajectory of this illness,
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we can create the opportunity for quality
of life and that begins with comfort.
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[music]
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[sil.]
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Oh, I\'m sorry, I didn\'t hear.
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You didn\'t hear me? I just
came in and opened your blinds
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so you would know it was morning. Mom has
been a very healthy, very active woman
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throughout her life. Thirsty?
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I know, here. And in 2010 February
she was diagnosed with colon cancer
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in besides cancer she has
Alzheimer\'s or dementia
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which she\'s on medication for.
You want some lip stuff? Yeah.
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[sil.]
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I\'m gonna have to get you to drink more water because your
lips are chapped so from now on when I say drink just drink.
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[sil.]
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Did you sleep good? I hated being in Alaska
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when I would talk to mom on the phone
and she was having a not-so-good day.
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I plan to be here for Christmas
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and a few days before I got here I got a phone
call that she had fallen and broken her hip.
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So I came home to her being at Life Care
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which is a rehab/nursing home facility. I didn\'t
want my mom to spend our last days in a facility.
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I wanted her to be home where
she had her surroundings,
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where she had her own bed. How\'s that feel?
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Good, good. I discussed
it with my brothers.
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I need to be there for my mom and I propose
a six weeks on and two weeks off schedule
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and we\'ll modify that as we go along
and my brothers were happy with that
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and so we did it. We busted her out of Life
Care, we brought her home for Christmas
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and it\'s worked out ever since. Thank
you sweet heart. You\'re welcome.
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Let\'s see,
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I have three children Bud, Kevin and Greta.
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Yeah, I see it, the three.
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Are you watching cartoons?
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Where\'s my breakfast?
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When I moved up there as a teenager
and I was just young and… and wild
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and I\'m thinking and I didn\'t come home as much as
I should have, maybe I can make up for that now.
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I feel like this is the way it…
it needs to be, the best way.
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[music]
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When I came here in 1982,
that\'s when my mother decided
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that her and me will live on our own
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and so we live together ever since.
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I am a single mother with three boys.
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My oldest one It had been out of our house.
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All those years when I got
married and then I had my kids
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she took care of my three boys and
everything. These are all right.
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Well, her dementia didn\'t
kick in at an early age.
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It was just lately may be
around nine years ago.
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At that time I got a call
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from the police station stating
that I had to come home.
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When I got home
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the chief of police told me that my
mother was trying to fry her food
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and that she forgot, the fire started
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and my next door neighbor came to help her,
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the house was burned. That\'s when I realized
that I cannot leave mother by herself anymore
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and I asked my friends
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how to get help for my mother.
She used to be a seamstress.
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She used to sell my clothes
when I was a little girl.
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[music]
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It\'s really big
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and I still can\'t believe we
actually live in this building.
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I guess it\'s kind of like a play
land for adults and kids. It\'s fun.
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I would love for my mom to be here with us,
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you know, until she decides
to move somewhere else.
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It would have to be her decision not mine.
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I received a phone call from my sister in Alaska who
said that I needed to contact my mother immediately
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because she had tried to hit
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and choke my father.
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My sister said that she felt that my mother
needed to be committed and I, I didn\'t think so
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because I was talking to my mom quite
frequently but it was the stress
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of my father\'s disease in my opinion.
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I miss my husband. We were going to live
in Palmer on his five-acre property
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and garden and plant trees
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and that we\'d live there
for rest of our lives
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but he had this terminal cancer and they
showed five years and that would be a.
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My mom was married to my dad for 56 years
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and so we got her into some counseling.
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They felt she was depressed. She had
dementia or Alzheimer\'s. One more.
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I don\'t get anymore.
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It was just devastating to me. I… I don\'t
understand at all of our lives we work so hard
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and for what to have to give it all away
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or get rid of it or surrender it to
the state in order to keep loving.
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You ready grandma? I made
a promise to my mother.
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I promise you I will not leave you here
in Alaska if daddy\'s to pass away.
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They as a parent deserve that
when they become elderly.
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They gave of themselves in that, it\'s a lot to give. I
want my mother to have their respect that she deserves.
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I have a hall, I have a roof over my head,
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I have food that I can put on the table and
I have an extra plate to give to another
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and I have loving arms
to rub around her 24-7.
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Favorite number one daughter.
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Okay.
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Yeah, that\'s what he used to call me. I
remember dad always working two or three jobs
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and usually it was
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umm… truck driving and, you
know, things like that.
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Go out here and have a big quick lunch.
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Which is the fineness
finer home in our country
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from our period just several beautiful view
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of all the whole area,
all the mountains know.
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That\'s it, can\'t get any better than that.
I am his primary caregiver
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outside of the Pioneer Home ward he lives.
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He\'s my number one dad.
00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.999
And he was on a constant high always, always,
always, always whistling always happy.
00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.999
It goes back at least 40 years
have always been happy.
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.999
It was out of the blue. He was
doing things at that time like,
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you know, walking out right in the middle
of a conversation he would leave the room
00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.999
and, you know, just walk out.
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There was something happening with dad
and I took him in for a diagnosis
00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.999
then he was diagnosed with
early Alzheimer\'s disease
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and we had a little family meeting and
decided there needed to be something then
00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.999
because of mom\'s health dad was needed
more and more to take care of mom
00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:49.999
and dad was becoming less
and less able to function
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.999
especially the way mom
needed and wanted him to.
00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.999
That\'s when my niece and my
sister started paperwork
00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:05.000
to get him into the Pioneer Home.
00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.999
Hi, you want another kiss? Sure.
00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.999
I am the primary caregiver for my mother.
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.999
Eileen Hall Who\'s 77 and she was diagnosed
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almost three years ago with Alzheimer\'s.
00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.999
I have a four-year-old and I\'m about
to in a month to have another baby boy
00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.999
who my 4-year-old is assisting
on calling wolverine
00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.999
so we have to refer to him as wolverine.
That will not be his name.
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[music]
00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.999
But she had said she didn\'t want to spend another
winter alone but we haven\'t really set a date
00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:59.999
and one day it was one of those awful days I ran
in and I was like Mom I\'m gonna drop it now
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if I got to meet a repair person
I got back 45 minutes later
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and she was hand on the wall propping
yourself up trying to get into the bathroom.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.999
I think, I mean, I feel healthy.
I don\'t feel like,
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I mean I thought by this age you know you\'re
supposed to be kind of shuffling around.
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.999
She hadn\'t eaten in like two days
had drank anything in two days.
00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.999
She was so out of it we couldn\'t
have ethically left her there.
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.999
She would not have survived that
was the point where I said,
00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.999
you know what, you\'re moving today I call
all my siblings, everybody dropped work
00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.999
came over we moved her out of the
house that day. My mom came alone
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when she was 21 or 22 just got
out of nursing school in the 50s
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Alaska still territory she… she took a job alone.
Jumped on her very first airplane from Connecticut
00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.999
and to copperas up to Sitka Alaska to be a nurse and not knowing
what she was getting into, just packed the bag and left.
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Let me write here
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.999
right on the end here. The funny thing is
00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.999
I was actually left-handed
and forced to change.
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.999
I love that we\'re doing this. You know what, I\'m
wolverine. I love that Aidan sees her every day,
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
that she\'s a real part of his life that
he will have a solid memory of Nana.
00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.999
It\'s a real gift to him.
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
Hey, you\'re going too fast.
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.999
Hey, you\'re the winner.
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.999
[music]
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She\'s (inaudible) but she love it.
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.999
I think we have a system and then we don\'t like
today, when she got up at 07:00 o\'clock this morning.
00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.999
That doesn\'t… that doesn\'t usually happen.
Why I don\'t live alone?
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(inaudible) living alone. I\'m
your number one daughter.
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
Alright, Next question. Your
favorite number one daughter. Okay.
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
They like cards, they like games, they
play, we have dancing like teenagers have…
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I never saw anybody dance like that.
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
Its your birthday right.
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
[music]
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.999
I shouldn\'t put this in here
probably should kill me.
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
She didn\'t finish high school.
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
She wanted to do it herself. Say
goodnight Betty. Goodnight.
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
[music]
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
At the Life Care one thing they were really good about
was the therapists were excellent working with me.
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
The two weeks I went up there, I went to physical
therapy with her every day they taught me
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
how to transfer her from point to point. They taught me how to do
exercises with her. They taught me how to roll around in the bed
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
but still it\'s different when it\'s.
You\'re the only one
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
and it\'s your turn and nobody\'s here to help.
The goodness is nobody\'s here to watch either.
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
So if you mess up, you mess up.
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
When we got home and everybody left
suddenly it was me and we\'re talking chair,
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
bed pan, bed, sometimes
trying to get to the party.
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
Making sure she sleeps so
that I could sleep. Ready?
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
Listening to hear that she would call for me and making
sure I would hear \'cause my worst nightmare was that
00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
in her forgetfulness she would forget that
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
she was supposed to put weight on her leg and try
to get out of bed. Where do you think I\'m going?
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
For the first two weeks we had her home she was non weight bearing
on one leg. So she really had to let me do everything. Okay?
00:16:55.000 --> 00:17:03.000
[music]
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
Why they didn\'t put refills on a lot of
these. Keeping track of medical bills
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.999
and deal with the insurance companies and Medicare
trying to figure out who owns what and what owns who
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
and then you have the medications that are different
because Medicare only cover certain parts
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
and so it\'s really having to learn
what it\'s like to be elderly
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
and the worst part is, is when you\'re older and they
talk about people with dementia or Alzheimer that,
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
how on earth as complicated as they make it
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
with these people be able to handle that.
They wouldn\'t.
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
My mother is yet to get the
social security from my father
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
and he passed away in October
we\'re already in January.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
That would be those loopholes that you have to dive
in and out of and sometimes they\'re big firing ring.
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
You want me to hold on or not.
You can hold on.
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
In this town we\'re trying to get in home health
care because my mom\'s insurance covers that.
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
Nothing\'s changed on the medicines.
None of the organization
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
or license to dispense medication.
They can bathe her.
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
They can dress her and they can feed
her but what I need is if I\'m not home
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
or my daughter\'s at school, I need somebody
to push the plunger on the (inaudible).
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
Did you get it? Yup.
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
The transition was incredibly refer her. Yeah.
\'cause I mean she\'s going from her own house
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
with everything around her. The times
that we\'ve had the terror out of that
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
is just been really, really hard on.
Sometimes it\'s a little rough here
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
but I can think back to when
she was living by herself
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
and it was a lot more there\'s actually a lot
more stressful. Whereas here things are normal,
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
you make sure she takes her medication make sure
she gets fed. You know, she has companionship and…
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
I can\'t even count how many pills
she was on. It was like 14. Yeah.
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
14 different medications. Do the first thing we did
was just slowly back off every single pill and say
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
Does she really need this and so what you see behind you
this is our morning routine that\'s you know, a vitamin D
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
and three pills and the paper, I
mean this is what (inaudible)
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
so she knows what day of the week it is and there pills are
there so she still feels like she\'s taking them on her own.
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
It took probably four
months to back off down to
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
what we really felt like were the essential pills.
Sometimes she just enjoys her time on the couch.
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
She\'s reading the paper all morning
and she doesn\'t want to go anywhere.
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
[music]
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
We can\'t get her to walk outside on a sunny
day. Were successful some days and not others.
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
I think I need to go back
to bed and get up again.
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
If mother\'s condition is really worse
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
then I\'ll decide if I will just take office
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
my sick leave which I don\'t have
anymore than I\'ll use my annual leave.
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
It was so hard to figure it out
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
because as a single
mother I didn\'t have time
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
to go to every organization here
in town to look for the help
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
because I have to work. If I
don\'t work there goes my…
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
my two boys still which
I need to feed them.
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
I only worked nine months in a year at
the school district and doing summertime
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
I don\'t get paid so I have to
save as much money as I can.
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
My middle son will go to college
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
and he\'s the one who\'s been
helping me here in the house.
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
I actually take care of her on Sundays
doing what my mom generally does feed her.
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
[sil.]
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
One time she thought someone was going to come and
kill her and I had this spent around three hours
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
at 03:00 a.m. to like try and
calming down to put it back to bed.
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
You see that my mother\'s
brain is deteriorating.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
It\'s sad to see that the Alzheimer\'s really
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
killing her slowly.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
Alzheimer\'s is a slow fatal
disease of the brain
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
affecting one in nine
people over the age of 65
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
and unfortunately no one is immune.
Alzheimer\'s comes on gradually
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
as to abnormal protein fragments
called plaques and tangles
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
accumulate in the brain
and kill brain cells.
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
They start here in the hippocampus
the part of the brain
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
where memories are first formed.
Over many years time
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
the plaques and tangles slowly destroy the hippocampus
and it becomes harder and harder to form new memories.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
Simple recollections from a few hours
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
or days ago that the rest of us might
take for granted are just not there.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
After that more plaques and tangles
spread into different areas of the brain
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
killing cells and compromising
function wherever they go.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
This spreading around is what causes
the different stages of Alzheimer\'s.
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
From the hippocampus the disease spreads here to
the area of the brain where language is processed.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
When this happens it gets tougher and
tougher to find the right words.
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
The rooms I never seeing all for this
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
are designed for mostly
the handicap people.
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
I didn\'t come into that classification.
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
The requirement for that floor is
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
where the wander guard and they went put
it on and he just told them Well no
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
he wasn\'t going to wear it. If he
had to wear, wear those things
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
like those old handicapped people wear
then he will just go kill himself.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
One of the things that he
has really gotten active
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
in is the hording going through garbage
cans. Very interesting selection of items.
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
Finds lots of tires on the side
of the road and have caps.
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
Three or four bed frames,
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
you know, that he had. They were actually
out in the hall for months, sweaters,
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
baby shoes, you know, always thinking about
the families that may not have things.
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
[music]
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
I think the lack of privacy
can be a little bit much.
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
Who are all these people? We have
to kind of find our little niches.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
I used to be the nurse so (inaudible)
held lots of babies. Better be his.
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
Kind of looks like me. I think
he\'s got more hair though.
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
Baby does it. Thanks. You\'re
just part of the family
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
and you know I had four children.
A baby is a blessing.
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
I know that when she\'s in her element is just
like a car if you fuel up and you maintain it,
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
it runs well but man if you don\'t take care
of it you know you\'re on the side of the road
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
ten below with a flat tire and
you know, life\'s miserable.
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
You\'re a co-operative (inaudible). We all
cooperate with each other and things are fine.
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
No complaints. I can see where it
could really tear a marriage apart.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
You know, if you don\'t
have the right mindsets
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
you can really lose each other.
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
People who are caring for a loved one with dementia are
twice as likely to develop their own health care issues.
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
So you\'re talking about increased
stress potentially increased isolation,
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
a lack of getting to the doctor for their own
healthcare issues and when you add all that up
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
they\'re not having their own needs met.
This is mom\'s favorite place.
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
Not in the winter. This is where
she spends most of her time.
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
She was the bird lady. I
have having a hard time
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
keeping my spirits up. I\'m very homesick
and I\'m looking forward to getting home.
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
[music]
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
Good thing we don\'t have in Alaska are the beautiful
red birds. I\'ve never been gone from Alaska this long.
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
I miss my dogs, I miss my husband.
I miss my house.
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
My friends, I\'ve been gone too long.
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
Life as I know it has left behind.
I came into this thinking
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
I knew all about how to take care of myself and I wouldn\'t
sacrifice not taking care of myself but weeks into it I found
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
I would lay in bed at night with
back pain and it wasn\'t a back pain
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
that was there from strain. It was there from stress.
It was from sitting tensed, laying down tensed,
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
bending over tensed. Cereal
your favorite breakfast? Yeah.
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
We have a caregiver Candy who has been
take care mom since last October.
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
Mom really likes her. They have a
great relationship with each other
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
and every day I take off for at least four hours. Usually I run
errands there\'s always something to pick up something you need
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
garbage bags wipes, food, milk
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
prescriptions that are at three different
pharmacies all over town for one reason or another.
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
Some self-care ideas can include
definitely taking some time for yourself
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
whether it\'s a now, something that you
really love to do, the other piece of it
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
though is to make sure that you\'re connecting
with your peers or with professionals
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
because you want to have at a time to be
able to let out the feelings and emotions
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
you don\'t necessarily need someone to
fix it, you just need to let it go.
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
This is the best part of the
drive right here just going up,
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
the rest and relaxation.
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
This is the (inaudible) time,
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
this is where I go for relaxation.
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
Its called the point of sanity \'cause (inaudible)
helps take care of my (inaudible). Yeah.
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:43.000
[music]
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
But that\'s what makes it all fun. So
11:00-11:30, okay, see you then. Bye.
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
That was Candy. Have you like (inaudible).
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
No, I haven\'t gone to yet.
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
So she did get up at 07:00. I heard you asking her but
she went back to sleep and get up to about 10:00.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
Sunshine and I\'m going for a walk.
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
I love you. I love you too.
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
[music]
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
Sometimes it takes me till I get to the stop
sign up here to feel the relief because I leave,
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
I\'m feeling guilty intense about leaving
and then I get up here to the stop sign
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
and I take a breath and my cell phone works
and Candy is familiar enough with mom
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
and what\'s going on that I don\'t
feeling comfortable leaving her there.
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
I may think things need to
be done in a different way
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
but she does things just fine.
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
[music]
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
They do a good job here calming him
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
and letting him know that he needs to come
back at a certain time to get his meds
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
but he forgets and now he\'s
getting more forgetful
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
about taking his phone with him. He forgets
that he asked to sign in and sign out.
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
In the coldest winters, every single night
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
every night he would go
out and go downtown.
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
What is frightening for us is the family
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
is that anything can happen when he\'s out.
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
I\'ve been taking classes and things on the
various stages of Alzheimer\'s in the symptoms
00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
and what happens and I know
that he\'s not responsible
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
for the change in judgment
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
and the inability to connect his
actions and the consequences.
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
The very worst part is there\'s no hope
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
that it\'s going to get better.
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
[music]
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
I don\'t know I can\'t draw with my
right hand. I eventually was forced
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
to learn to write with my right hand and
I write all the time with my right hand
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
but I cannot draw I, I just don\'t have it.
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:38.000
[music]
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
Thinking back growing up as a kid
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
The only one left I have is my sister.
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:58.000
[music]
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
The disease creeps towards the front of the
brain were logical thought takes place.
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
Gradually the person begins to lose
the ability to solve problems,
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
grasp concepts and make plans.
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
Next the plaques and tangles invade the part
of the brain where emotions are regulated
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
when this happens the person
gradually loses control
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
over their mood and their feelings.
After that the disease moves
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
to the part of the brain that makes sense
of the things it sees and hears and smells,
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
in this stage Alzheimer\'s wreaks
havoc on the person senses
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
and unfortunately it can
spark hallucinations.
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
Eventually the plaques and tangles erase a
person\'s oldest and most precious memories
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
which are stored here in
the back of the brain.
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
We had caretaker come in here what they were
about two weeks maybe at the most? Yeah.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
And she finally just
started locking them out.
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
She was angry all the time. I, There was no specific
incident it was just this ramping up of being really unhappy
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
telling everyone that called how unhappy
she was how much she hated it here.
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
Too it\'s getting increasingly hostile with
Aidan. Last weekend Edward to do something
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
and within the first couple of minutes. Thirty
seconds. Thirty seconds she was spanking Aidan
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
we say well nana\'s got a disease it\'s her
brain the thing that makes her think
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
can imagine if you had something in there that was eating it away
and you couldn\'t think straight and you would forget all the time
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
and he\'s like, \"Oh yeah!\" but he
doesn\'t get the emotions behind it.
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
Right or, or the fact that like when nana repeat something
where the fourth time that the appropriate responses.
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
\"Yes nana you\'ve told me that four times but I
know you are you\'re sick and you got Alzheimer\'s.\"
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
That perhaps you didn\'t actually say that to
nana. Yeah. He\'s five he doesn\'t get that.
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
And she\'s very upset and three minutes later she\'s forgotten it and so
we can roll forward I mean it\'s not an unforgivable thing but it\'s hard.
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
[sil.]
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
When mothers hallucination kicks in she
thinks that someone is attacking her.
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
[sil.]
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
She sees so many bugs on the floor too
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
at the same time crawling and
that those bugs are after her.
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
She doesn\'t go to sleep because
it goes on and on and on
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
it\'s a nonstop activity for her. Her
doctor gave me the sleeping pills
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
once I give her she
sleeps like continuously,
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
so if she doesn\'t wake up
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
then I\'ll end up taking care of her
and I will take off from work.
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
I didn\'t know where to
balance my situation here.
00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
Mushrooms, potato, broccoli and all salad.
I need a knife. You need a knife? Yes.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
There you go, what are you gonna do with
it? I\'ll eat some butter. I need fork.
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
You need a fork? What happened to your fork? Thank you
Father for giving us this food to nourish our bodies,
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
thank you for us being together
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
and being able to support each
other and your name we pray amen.
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
How did I do? Love you too.
I said, \"How did I do?\"
00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
and I love you too. You can eat?
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
No I cannot eat.
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
Do you want some ice cream? No.
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
Okay. Do you want to go to bed? No. Okay,
well I don\'t know what of all. Love you.
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
I love you too.
00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
(inaudible) put you up for a bit.
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
Good night. Thank you (inaudible).
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
And I\'ll close your door a little bit.
Okay? I love you so very much.
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
I love you right back. Okay. Okay.
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
Well she\'s so cute,
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
she\'s so sweet you know at night and in the morning
sometimes she\'s just so cute and sweet then
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
and middle of the night it\'ll be very frustrating
they\'ll be poop and puke and blow outs and stuff
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
and she won\'t be cute and sweet
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
she\'ll be like you know
demanding and whatever but?
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
January tenth and January eleventh
I had a strange two days with mom
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
she went into another world on me. Most of
the day and wholeheartedly during the night
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
taken things out of her hand that weren\'t
really there and handed them to me,
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
talking about all kinds of things that were happening she
went to bed around nine and I laid on the couch and listened
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
I listened to her talk until midnight.
It sounded quiet and I went to bed
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
and at five A.M. I was
tilted away by a sound
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
I jumped up and went in to her room and she was sitting
across the room in a chair trying to put on her PJ bottoms.
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
She didn\'t know it\'s morning she thought it
was night and the shocking part was that
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
she gotten herself out of bed and across
the room. My worst fear had come alive
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
the fact is she was
hallucinating and disoriented
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
another one of the steps of the end.
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
[music]
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
We had hired an outside company to come in
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
and it was for four hours per day. The
lady left early one day without calling me
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
and the next thing I got was a phone call from the
paramedics saying they were en route to my house
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
and my mother had fallen.
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
Sure enough she broke her shoulder
and she ended up with ten pins
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
the heavy anesthesia they had to use for her
arm and the pain killers it\'s almost like
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
that was a turning point for her
memory and her mental stability
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
and it was almost like she never
came fully out of the anesthesia.
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
I came to the hospital where she was ran and the
nurse said, \"Oh we had an incident with your mother\"
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
and of course I thought \"Did she
fall out of bed?\" and she said,
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
\"No she used the phone and dialed nine
one one and reported herself as missing.
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
She has enough to know inside
that she\'s missing things,
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
including herself.
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
I just stand stared at my mom
and I thought well it\'s like
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
she\'s jailed in her own brain thus fighting
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
to keep a hold of reality
and, and the present.
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
[music]
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
I got up to home late from work one day.
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
I had no idea I mean I walked into a buzz saw. She
started swearing which is not like her at all
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
about a car and (inaudible)
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
and that my husband started calling him
expletive and she had called the police
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
to say that he had stolen her car.
Things escalated and we didn\'t
00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
and we have to do is disengaged Edded called my
siblings and say you need to take her for a few days
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
and she was still mad if you brought up the
car she would go right back to the anger
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
and then she would get real teary like you know we\'d
say well you call the police you call John these names
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
and she was fortified. Shouldn\'t remember she did it
by the time she got to my sister tells a mile away
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
she didn\'t remembered that was the end
of the car. Yeah that disappeared that
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
she went one way and the car went another. Hey
Aid can you tell me what\'s upsetting you?
00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
Might not doing as well as I did before.
There\'s a lots of things that
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
we rolled with frustration with just not
being able to remember things and you know
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
not been oriented in the day I needed
him to be the center of attention.
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
Just give me hug. Bud bring this.
00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
Yes. Hi Betty (inaudible). I see that.
This is mine.
00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
Do you want to write your hours for the last
three days since I\'m not keeping track for you.
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
Write down today anyway and I felt
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
I figured that one out but I don\'t remember this one.
Just circle today when I have got here and then yesterday
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
Candy I\'m serious as a heart attack about
this I cannot keep track of you and me.
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
I can\'t I don\'t know what time I got
here, what time did I get here?
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
I don\'t know. See. This is the logger I try to keep
track of everything that happens during the day
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
and not much got written down that
day but other days look like that
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
and that and this is where candy supposed to be
tracking her time because normally Kevin comes in here
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
and reads through the book and writes her check and you know what if
she didn\'t have a time to written down she\'s not gonna get the check.
00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
We are at our new coffee shop
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
and we started this endeavor
because my other career
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
would have taken me out and away from where my mom
is. She has a lot of urinary tract infections
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
and so those take that
Alzheimer\'s it gets very severe.
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
Where she\'ll start calling me at
three and four in the morning
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
and she ask me who say \"who\'s this?\"
and I\'m like, \"well this is Janet
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
and you called me\" and she goes, \"why are you
sound like you\'re sleeping?\" then I said,
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
\"I am\" and she goes, \"well you need to get up it\'s like four
in the afternoon.\" like oh no that\'s four in the morning
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
and then she won\'t
remember talking to me. I
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
t kind of gets you that
you don\'t know who I am
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
but yet you\'re conversing with me so it\'s,
it\'s, it takes you down crazy (inaudible).
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
There can unfortunately be some pretty
significant behavioral changes.
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
They may not even recognize their family anymore
and I know that we see that as a reason
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
why individuals look to others to
take care it\'s, it\'s heartbreaking.
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
[non-English narration]
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
So when do you make the decision
between caring for someone at home
00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
or moving to an assisted living or skilled nursing
facility it\'s different for every single family situation
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
it will depend on what stage their loved
one is in? What resources the family has,
00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
both formal and informal resources?
And the needs of the individual.
00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
We have just decided to get on the waiting
list at Horizon House which is apartments.
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
It\'s a really good place I don\'t
know how that transitions gonna go.
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
We decided that my mom need
to live in assisted living
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
and then the home called me and said
that my mom was in a wheelchair
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
and had attended lunch without her pants
on. So I said this is not my mother
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
my mother\'s very shy very introvert
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
and so it was two days later they called and
said that my mother had all of her belongings
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
as much as she could pile in
her lap and her wheelchair
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
and she proceeded to head to the front door
she was leaving and she told the people that
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
she needed to be at the bus stop to meet her father
who\'s picking her up to take her to college.
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
And so we had gone from being
an eighty two year old woman
00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
down to an eighteen, nineteen year
old girl waiting for her dad and….
00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
[music]
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
….that was very difficult.
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
They decided that his
independence was more important
00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
than his safety. I got the
call to come get him.
00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
[music]
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
Looking better for not looking
me in the mirror. Yeah. Yes.
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
I did it I get up (inaudible)
jeez is that me? Yup.
00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
Kind of crazy how sunshine
00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
for sometime all I remember just walking
down across the street (inaudible)
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
right in the middle of
some other people around.
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
And then boom, right? Yeah. And that is
consistent worth work I think happen.
00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
He had never been in so much pain
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
and that just chocked me up
00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
and I just thought that this is it
this is the the beginning of the end.
00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
I felt helpless just helpless.
00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
[music]
00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
Until there\'s something that we can
do about the condition medically
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
then it really falls on us
to try and develop methods
00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
for successful caring in service for
people who have trouble thinking.
00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
One of the questions that you
should probably be asked is
00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
if the person with dementia could see themselves now what
guidance would they give you? What would they say is important?
00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
I remember my mother but she used
to take care of my grandmother
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
I said, \"Mom how come you\'re
taking care of grandma
00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
when there\'s an the an uncle to do it.
Then she said,
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
\"no I left to take care of
my mother so you watch me
00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
the way I take care of your grandmother
so when I become old like her
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
you\'ll know what to do with me too
00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
and I\'m pretty sure you will take
care of me\" that\'s what she said.
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
So I hope my boys will take care of me
when I will be older like my mother.
00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
I think I said that you are if that\'s
the case she\'s living with Calvin.
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
She\'s going to retirement home.
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:20.000
[music]
00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:33.000
[music]
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
We\'re going to Jay Baer to Fort
Richardson National Cemetery
00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
for DOD (inaudible)
\"Happy\" Harold\'s service
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
funeral such as it is.
00:45:55.000 --> 00:46:03.000
[sil.]
00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
Medical orders weren\'t
followed he was giving drugs
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
that he didn\'t want other
people made decisions for him
00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
and it was wrong. It was just it was wrong.
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
Family members are either
00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
the best supporters or the worst
supporters the same is true
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
with end of life decisions. They\'ll
either support you or they\'ll do
00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
what they want to have done.
Unfortunately dying is not simple
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
you just don\'t take your
last breath and that\'s it.
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:53.000
[music]
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
Oh men fix we care give
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
so pouring rain to
00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
get everything wet.
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
[music]
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
Here I am in the parking lot and she\'s calling me. Patty again
I should wondering where you are it\'s ten thirty or more.
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
I have no arms securing my own purse.
00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
I kept talking to her before we did
this that it\'s, it\'s a place to go
00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
and start over to meet friends new friends
and so she was kind of on to that whole idea
00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
and she thought that was
exciting but she also said,
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
\"Why do I want to be with old people because
they can never remember anything\" and I\'m like,
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
\"Wow okay.\" I was going to ask you some
questions we found that this photograph album
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
and I don\'t recognize a lot of the people
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
and I didn\'t know if it was
yours or that\'s aunt Betty\'s.
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
How are you gonna steering wheel? One hand.
00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
One handed aren\'t you gonna go in a circle?
No, I thought maybe you\'d gotten lost.
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
No we had some people coming in at
the restaurant so the coffee house.
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
One of the things I often tell the family is
that moving into an environment like this
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
is not only going to provide the care that you
know your mom or your dad or whomever needs
00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
but it\'s going to allow you to go back to being the
family member and whether they recognize it or not you do
00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
and so when you come and visit Yeah you may have to bring some supplies
in or something but you\'re not coming to visit to provide the care,
00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
you\'re coming back as
the daughter or the son
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
that relationship can flourish and be dynamic
of a family again versus a caregiver.
00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
I\'m embracing it I have to find the positive in it
because if you don\'t you\'re just going to be miserable
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
and I stopped getting upset,
00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
I stopped saying are you listening to me? Can you
retain this because the answer is no she can\'t!
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
That\'s Sure Dad. That\'s your grandpa.
00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
I know Walter. That\'s this
is when we came to Alaska
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
that\'s a car we had with all
our personal things in it.
00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
All of us spitting. When people have dementia
we know what the outcome is going to be.
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
We know that unless some other illness takes
their life first that dementia will claim it
00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
but that doesn\'t mean that you\'re dead from the
beginning that every moment that you\'re living
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
there is an opportunity to create for you
00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
that wonderful living experience, the fact that you can
still know when you\'re comfortable in when you\'re not.
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
Those are things that we
can utilize to create
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
the greatest quality of life possible for you. I remember
when I was a kid when I was growing up she loved a garden
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
she loved to watch the birds and so
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
those things haven\'t changed and it\'s like she can go
back thirty years but yesterday she can\'t remember.
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:38.000
[music]
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
[music]
00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
It\'s like every day I hear someone else
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
talk about their parents and what they
are having to do with their parents
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
public enemy everyday for
the rest of our lives.
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:23.000
[sil.]
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
But good lesson learned
that you\'ve said tonight is
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
to allow them what they want
00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
because changing things in that time
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
is not going to make it better, it\'s not going
to get better, it\'s not going to reverse
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
you can only help them as much as you can and the
best way you can help them is to make them happy.
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
Nobody comes with the manual, nobody does.
The loving care
00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
and support that you gave your mom by preparing
those meals for her is all she needed.
00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
Truly, the best part was
you were there for her,
00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
you loved her, she loved you
and you took care of her.
00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
[music]
00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
Do you want a crystal Kevin? Oh
I really like to take one, yes.
00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
(inaudible). Alright.
00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
When the last pictures I took of mom she was sitting right
there and there was a rainbow she drawn on her forehead.
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
That\'s right, that\'s right.
I forgot about that.
00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
[music]
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
All message please back. This is
your mother I want anger fear.
00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
[sil.]
00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
Her mood from day to day sometimes she loves it there and sometimes
she hates it. Can you show us the way? You get there slowly
00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
Also and you look up and realize where you\'ve
gone. You\'re like we\'re hiding in our bathroom
00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
to have a conversation about our marriage
well that\'s probably not healthy you know
00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
I just had to bite the bullet and say she needs to go and it\'s the best
thing for all of us. Hey, you have never seen these wealthy shoes.
00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
Hey, pretty neat. They threw me out.
They threw you out.
00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
We feel really guilty about it, is it
the right thing or the wrong thing
00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
I\'m not sure if there is such a thing with this. The door is
closed nobody that works here\'s gonna hear anything to say.
00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
The place is okay. Sit down next to her.
00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
I just got thrilled being here.
Nana, remember when I was
00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
(inaudible)
00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
Yeah. Sometimes it\'s hard to know
I\'m here just telling by myself
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
mean there\'s a lot of
people but at the same time
00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
I\'m by myself I don\'t have my family.
That couldn\'t be sick and be at home
00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
because I\'m constantly have to be interacting
and caring for her and getting food for her
00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
and explaining things and so I would actually
go to work six that I could take a break.
00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
Oh, oh, oh I gotcha. I had not
realized how depressed I got. Alright
00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:14.999
(inaudible). No, did you show nana? Did you write your name?
I don\'t even know for sure how long I have been here.
00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.999
About two months you got
here beginning of February.
00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.999
So when she left and she ended up liking
it, it was such a load off my shoulders.
00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:29.999
You\'re catching me and my minds not working
00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:34.999
on all two cylinders.
00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.999
I know I have to go bathroom. I know that it\'s
gonna happen that I\'m in a you know walk in
00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
and she\'s gonna think I\'m the nursing staff
which she doesn\'t treat all that well.
00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
Alright I\'ll see you later. I know that there will
come a time when she doesn\'t recognize my kids
00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:54.999
and then she won\'t recognize my husband
and then she won\'t recognize me.
00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.999
So I\'m not gonna be the first person.
00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
[music]
00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
It\'s as if she\'s backing out of time.
00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
A very wise person once told my mother
00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:19.999
that there were six people who
were doing your job, do the math
00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.999
it\'s difficult for one person to do what
six people do and to do it every day,
00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
twenty four hours a day, every
single day of the year.
00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
[music]
00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.999
You know it\'s kind of like when
your child goes off to school
00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:45.000
and gets the point go mom don\'t hug me, don\'t kiss
me well doesn\'t want me to take her any further.
00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.999
[music]
00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.999
Basically everything has gone
back to normal after dad\'s died
00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
to where it was before dad got sick
00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
where there\'s no family contact
unless they need me for something.
00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
Dad\'s biggest thing in life was family,
Everything that he did was for family
00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
I have learned a lot through this process.
00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
My mom gave me this ornament right
here, this was the ornament
00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
when she was a little girl that she got to hang on the tree.
The first whole year was really hard for every occasion.
00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
I didn\'t get a Valentine\'s Day card
from my mom for the first time ever,
00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
I didn\'t have a Christmas
box to pack up for her
00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
you know it was all the first the first year after so
things have gotten much better in that, in that way.
00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
I think about my mom every day
00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
and I miss her very much.
I really thank my husband
00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.999
for giving me the opportunity to
be with her and take care of her
00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:09.999
and her last days to me that
made everything alright.
00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:14.999
[music]
00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.999
When she comes over now she it\'s like she\'s on vacation
and so she\'s happy to be there she plays with kids
00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:24.999
and we have a really good time. That\'s a really
good stage I think seeing which she\'s happier
00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.999
then she was at my house it\'s hard
because I know we did the right thing
00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:34.999
but then you see are there think we should have been done that to
start with you know which you\'ve been happier all along you know.
00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:40.000
She seems content.