Member-only story
Pendulum (My Mom’s Alzheimer’s)
Yesterday morning Mom had no idea how to get up or get out of bed, even with assistance. I raised her torso up and moved each limb gently toward the side of the bed, with her fearfully expecting each movement to hurt. I held her under the arms, below the armpits, and rocked and turned her until she was in a seated position on the bed, but she still had no idea how to proceed. Once her legs hung off the bed, I gently rocked her back and forth until her body seemed to remember the motion of getting up.
Even with that realization she seemed to lack the muscle strength and balance to proceed. From the seated position she proceeded to slide slowly off the bed. I caught her and propped her up, encouraging her throughout the process while my own heart sank.
The nighttime routine was the same situation in reverse. Mom would not or could not seem to get onto the bed, even with a stepstool and physical assistance. (We are close in height and weight so moving her without some form of cooperation is not possible.) She simply would not walk the last two steps to the bed.
I eventually got her to sit in the armchair beside her bed, since she would go no farther. Even then she resisted and refused to pick a leg up off the floor even while safely in a seated position. No amount of explanation or cajoling had any effect. Changing her into her pyjamas took…
