A surprise

 

A little Car Chase

Forgetting an Anniversary and a warning to Caregivers to take care of "their" health!

Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 6:37am my Dad passed away at home under Hospice.  I know the time, as that is when the Caregiver knocked on my door.  I went to him and placed one hand on his shoulder and with my other placed my hand into his.  His finger tips were warm.  I said some things, said a prayer and talked to him.  I do recall saying "you are now home with Mom",  I then said "Dad, it was my pleasure and privilege to take care of you and Mom over the last several years".  I then spoke to my Caregiver who had only been with me 2 nights.  She was rattled, so I had her call her employer.  We talked some more. I did not have her clock out until her ride came. I then called Hospice.

I totally forgot until a few minutes ago.  I had to go online to check the date from the Obituary.  I am totally floored.  Note:  I remembered Sunday, June 25, 2017, later in the evening, when I started to write this.

Now, for the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say:

Thursday, June 22, 2017 I woke up at 3:06 am, knowing something was not right, went to the kitchen table, quickly checked my BP and called 911.  It was 50/ over something. Records from Comcast:

"911-Emergency Wednesday | June 22, 2017 | 3:13 AM PDT | 2 minutes 17 seconds".  Ambulance was here within 4 minutes. Barely had time to grab my "go" bag, grab my shoes, lock the door and step outside.  I have inside kitties and did not want to lose them.

I have an A-fib like condition and the first time it happened was 2007. It is a "when, not if" condition. That time they put me under in the ER and used the paddles to shock the heart. Ended up in the Hospital that time.

And this year have been working with my PCP on yo-yo'ing BP issues since March. 

I was very dizzy and felt I was going to fall as I went down the hall, but I was able to move my body in a way that I slid down the wall and did not hurt myself.  I decided to crawl to the kitchen table where the BP machine was. No problem getting up into the chair.

In the ER they did the shock thing again, but had to do it 4 times this time.  I was then admitted.  I came home Friday afternoon the 23rd.

They kept asking me in the ER if I knew what time it was, day of the week, month. I could answer the year.  I think those were diagnostic questions. They were asking other questions too. I had no problem answering those. They also kept asking if I had passed out, They asked that more than once.  I had not.   I did tell them I did fall.

I did move to Washington a couple years after 2007 to take care of Mom and Dad and moved back to Oregon after Dad's passing and the completion of the Estate work.  I have all the same Drs. now that I had then. PCP, Cardiologist, Foot Dr., Dentist, etc..  PCP and Cardiologist know each other, even my Cardiologist in the Hospital knows them.

Why did I forget the 3rd Anniversary of Dad's passing and only now remember?  And just hours before he had passed, I had this heart thing happen?  How I woke up was very strange, I immediately new something was wrong and something was guiding me to take decisive action.

Now I am trying to figure out the significance of all these happenings. The 21st had been a good and normal day.  I do have a more definitive diagnosis and treatment plan, though.  I think we finally found the root cause after 10 years.  Like I said I have had BP and dizziness issues since March.  And, even though it has been only a few days, I have never felt better.  Was Dad and Mom reaching out to me to make sure I was well?  Did they know that all of the Drs. would line up and had established relationships, so they could work as a team? Did they know I would have the Ambulance pass up 2 Hospitals to go to the one I went to in 2007?  One of the best in town for treating conditions such as mine? Once I explained that to the EMT's they totally understood and made it happen.  Were they clouding my memory as to time, so I could concentrate on the process of healing myself and I could remember Dad's anniversary later?  I do believe in a higher power and He was involved too.  Well, I will just leave this here.

Dad passed at 95 and Mom at 91, so I have a ways to go.  The Dementia's they suffered from hit them very late in life and they were very healthy and active up to that point.

Thank you for reading. It has been very cathartic and eye opening.

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This was posted to Memory People™ - The Journey Continues,  A Secret sub-Group of Memory People™ on Facebook.  To join enter Memory People™ in search box.  Click join.   They will check your Facebook page to see if you are real and not a bot.   It is a moderated group and has very simple rules, but as it has grown they have had to add more specific ones.  Once added to Main Group one can be added to a number of other sub Groups.

There are a number of resources in the form of Word Documents and other formats.  Those can be found under the Files Link once joined.

Description

Its origins:  Rick Phelps was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD) on June 30, 2010, at the age of 57.   Memory People was started by Rick Phelps on Nov. 25, 2010 @ 4:38 am. This just happened to be on Thanksgiving!  Member 16,700 was added on June 5, 2017.  There were under 3,000 Members when I joined.

Purpose and rules:  We have some guidelines here at Memory People™ and we post them from time to time. The overriding guideline here is always grace in our interactions, and respect for our fellow members and also for loved ones we may be sharing about.

Memory People™ is an Alzheimer's/dementia and memory impairment Support and Awareness group. We are patients, caregivers, advocates, family members and professionals sharing our journeys with each other, seeking comfort and understanding, and receiving support and helpful information.

We don't talk about miracle cures or false hopes here. We share about the reality of dementia and memory impairment, and through support and education we find the ability to take another step each day in this journey.

We welcome anyone, even if you're not directly touched by dementia or a memory impairment. You will find knowledge and awareness here.

Here in MP we are "bringing awareness, one member at a time..."

Note:  This was written on Sunday, June 25, 2017, late in the evening, when I "remembered" that I had forgotten the Anniversary of Dad's passing.

 

The Bike Ride

THE BIKE RIDE

At first, as I grew, I saw God as my observer, my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know
whether I merited heaven or hell when I die.
He was just "out there" sort of like the President.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I didn't really know Him.

But later on in life, when I recognized my Higher Power,
it began to seem as though life was rather like a bike ride;
but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that God
was in the back helping me pedal.
I'm unsure exactly when we traded places,
but life has a Higher Power and a plan all it's own.
God makes life exciting.

When I had control, I thought I knew the way.
It was rather boring, but predictable.
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when God took the lead, I saw that God knew delightful
long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at
breakneck speeds. It was all I could do to hang on.
Even though to me it seemed madness, God just said "pedal".
I was worried and anxious and so I asked, "Where are
You taking me?" God laughed and didn't answer.
And so I started to trust.

I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure.
When I cried out "I'm scared",
God would lean towards me and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of
healing, gifts of acceptance and joy.
They gave me their gifts to take on my journey;
our journey, God's and mine. And we were off again.

God said "Give the gifts away, they are extra baggage,
too much weight". So I followed direction and
did so to the people I met on the way.
And I found that in giving, I received, and still
our burden was light.

I did not trust God completely at first.
I thought that He would wreck it, if He was in
complete control of my life.
But God knew bike secrets, knew how to make it bend to
take sharp corners and turns, how to make it jump
to clear high obstacles filled with rocks,
how to make it fly to shorten scary passages.

And little by little I'm learning to shut up and pedal
in the strangest of places,
and I'm actually beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face,
with my delightful constant companion, my Higher Power.
And when I moan and complain and find all manner
of things hard to navigate,
when I'm sure that I can't handle it, that
I can't do anymore, God just smiles and says "Pedal"!

~ Anonymous ~

The Donkey Story or What is in my Clipboard?

What is in my Clipboard Today?  Ctrl-V

The Donkey

An old man, a boy & a donkey were going to town.  

The boy rode on the donkey & the old man walked.  

 As they went along they passed some people 

Who remarked it was a shame the old man 

Was walking and the boy was riding.

The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right,

So they changed positions.

 

Then, later, they passed some people who remarked, 

'What a shame, he makes that little boy walk.'

So they then decided they'd both walk!  

Soon they passed some more people who thought 

They were stupid to walk when they had a 

Decent donkey to ride.  

So, they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people 

Who shamed them by saying how awful to 

Put such a load on a poor donkey.

The boy and man figured they were probably right, 

So they decide to carry the donkey.   

As they crossed the bridge,

They lost their grip on the animal 

And he fell into the river and drowned.

 

  
The moral of the story?

If you try to please everyone, 

You might as well..  

Kiss your ass goodbye!

  

Have A Nice Day And
Be Careful With Your Donkey