April 23, 2012

About 6:30 this morning, Cameryn (our grandson) found Dad lying on the kitchen floor. Quite literally, he had fallen and couldn’t get up. He got Richard who made a startling discovery when he attempted to lift him and couldn’t. Richard helped (Dad weighs app. 190 lbs) get him rolled over and up on his hands and knees before slowly helping him to rise. He checked Dad for injuries and then assisted him to his chair in the living room. We aren't at all certain how long he was on the floor and he can't tell us.

This is the first time something like this has happened (with me home and sleeping through it). Richard did a good job of handling the situation and I felt a huge weight fall from my shoulders as the events were repeated to me. As a primary caregiver, one of the most difficult things to grasp is that we can NOT be there all the time. Rather than lamenting the fact that I only knew about it afterwards, I was delighted to know that Richard handled the crisis well. However, a decision was rapidly made. We will be adding a second monitor, stationed in the kitchen that will be able to pick up sounds in the kitchen and dining room clearly. It is just too far away from the one in his bedroom which only picks up into part of the living room. Between the two of them, we will be able to clearly hear him anywhere upstairs. An added bonus will be hearing when the boys sneak into the kitchen at night.

Dad has been consistently more confused lately. Every evening, as the sun begins to set, he gets steadily more confused and disoriented and more depressed. The phenomenon, which affects up to 20% of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, is called, appropriately, “Sundowner's Syndrome.” In the past, he only experienced it when he was in a hospital or rehab. Now, he suffers it daily anywhere. And tomorrow is the second anniversary of Mom's death.