Thanks to one and all. I really appreciate the support. Assisted Care and Assisted Living are the same thing. They are for people who aren't incontinent and don't have to be under lock and key to keep them from wandering off. I do it here at home because my deep love for him motivates me to hang in there. I manage his dressing, bathing, food intake, hearing aids and dental bridges upkeep and a million other small things he no longer has a clue about.
Our non-profit retirement center has over 250 residents, so we all know what everyone is up against and we help each other out. We have large and small apartments, a boarding wing, an assisted care unit and an 81-bed nursing facility...as well as a large HUD housing section for low income seniors. Go to: htpp://www.warmbeach.org (There's a picture of me on the Home Page.) We have super-active retirees who volunteer their heads off and a funereal nearly every week and everything in between.
I still feel alone because they are out there, just like my family and friends are, and I am in here. It's just the way it is and I do belong to a campus Care Giver's Support Group.
Getting him to, through and back home from his birthday celebration was a huge challenge. No more off-site events! (We live in only 600 sq. ft., so how can we ever have them here?) He is so frail and the house where the party was held was all steps up and steps down. For me it was a nightmare instead of a chance to socialize.
His memory has been going for a long time...but it is rapidly getting worse and the TV remote, phone and answering machine and all such things are now beyond his reach. He has no dementia...just acute memory loss. That allows us to continue conversing in a way that makes sense with the exception that he can't remember what he just said or what I just said.
He still walks our ancient Chihuahua and makes it back home...but I think it may be the dog that knows the way.
I guess I'm just tired...and discouraged. It comes and goes and I'll be back on top, soon.
