It
was quite a surprise because he hadn't fallen out of bed, nor was
there anything that he could have hit in the night. But BAM! There it
was as big as all get out.
Hubby
said he bit it in the night. I thought that he had his Lewy Body
Dementia REM sleep disorder in full swing (pun intended) hitting his
own face during a “fight”.
I
had even thought he might have had a stroke so I had him do the
S.T.A.T. signs for me -
Smile
(looks weird but both sides are moving check),
Talk
to me (jumbled but understandable, check),
Arms
up (check),
Tongue
out (sticking straight out no down angle, I bet he enjoyed doing
that, check) whew no signs of stroke.
Whatever
it was, there was no denying something happened to him.
Perhaps
this was a “payback” for the hateful way he's been treating me as
of late. Not just privately but in the presence of others. And harsh
enough to be scolded by Oldest and Youngest Daughter on 2 separate
occasions. Accusations of theft, personal insults, his insistence of
leaving and moving out on his own, driving, the list goes on and on
so you get the point.
Yes,
I know he can't help it and he can only react to the things his brain
is convincing him of but for the last 4+ years I've been a 24/7
caregiver to Lewy Body Dementia, a year before that a watchful wife/caregiver, a few months
before that a concerned wife, a couple months before that we were
working on repairing a damaged marriage, 17 months before that I was
fighting undeserved divorce proceedings, learning how to live alone
and deepening my relationship with the Lord. A while before that
Hubby had an ongoing affair that shattered our world and the 24 yrs
before that I was a homemaker, mother and wife living with and
buffering for Hubby's PTSD.
So,
separating the man from the disease isn't always easy especially when
I'm feeling emotionally beat down by his harsh and hurtful words.
I've shook it off, walked away, run it out, and yet there are times
that my feelings get hurt and I run my big mouth.
These
deep feelings have kept me away from blogging. The deepest hurt is
his insisting that Hubby wants to leave. He even wanted to look into
placement.
I
feel like I've tried so hard to keep things easy for Hubby, yet he
continues to reject me.
I
wrapped myself in prayer but admittedly I don't even know what I
needed to pray for so I asked for a Spirit of calm to make the
contacts necessary for Hubby.
Eventually
I did receive that calm and leading to make the contacts and this was
actually before the big melt down with my mouth, just needed to throw
that in.
Wouldn't
you know it though, when I told Hubby I had made the contact he
changed his mind about leaving for placement. Imagine that! He is
cognizant enough to understand what it means if he chooses to go into
a Nursing Home. I told a friend I felt like I was on a hamster wheel
because he doesn't want placement but still wants to live by himself.
Squeak! Squeak ! Goes the hamster and the wheel.
Contact about placement was only for information. I wasn't sure what the process was or where or how to even start. The social worker at the VA was new so even she wasn't sure and referred us elsewhere, to another new person, who wasn't sure where we were even located on her map.
Contact about placement was only for information. I wasn't sure what the process was or where or how to even start. The social worker at the VA was new so even she wasn't sure and referred us elsewhere, to another new person, who wasn't sure where we were even located on her map.
To
my surprise none of our 3 local facilities were contracted through
the VA. One never has, one sold so they don't and won't have a
contract and one lost their contract due to issues. The SW didn't say
why. Because I was almost in disbelief of the local facilities I
actually visited the 3 places . She was correct and after walking
into the one that lost their contract, if the greeting I received was
any indication as to why, I could see! I would never want Hubby
there!
The SW did give me the names of 3 facilities they did contract with that were the closest to us. But each one was at the least 45 miles away! She suggested I look on the Medicare.gov site to compare and research the 3 suggested facilities.
The SW did give me the names of 3 facilities they did contract with that were the closest to us. But each one was at the least 45 miles away! She suggested I look on the Medicare.gov site to compare and research the 3 suggested facilities.
The
first and closest one I looked up was an absolute No! No! No! A 2 and
3 star rating out of 5 and complaints on the medicare
website was enough to dismiss that idea without ever seeing the
facility for me. So Hubby has 2 choices if he chooses to go into a
home closest to our location. The other 2 places were higher on the rating scale so if Hubby
decides this is what he wants, we will be taking a trip to each one.
This is breaking my heart apart in small pieces at a time.
I
also had to ask questions that were hard for me to ask. How would it
need to be paid for? Would I lose my home, would I need to find
employment? Would placement nullify the guardianship?
I
was assured that if Hubby chose placement nothing would change except
his location. Being 100% Korean War era Service Connected Veteran
qualified him to Nursing Home Care and if he decided he didn't like
it, he was free to leave and come home. Nothing was permanent. That
eased my mind a little.
It's
been a few days since the melt down. Hubby has been in a nicer mood,
for the most part. He still continues to need my presence even though
her resents it. He won't ask others to do for him, just me. I'm heart
tired and have neglected my own needs but this past week I'm trying
to sort out what those needs are and working on them.
And
to end on a good note, we FINALLY got the Home Health Aide hours
straightened out and are once again receiving 10 hrs a week.
Please continue to pray for us as we walk through this part of the Lewy Body journey.
