That was when I had a job and had a life. Now, I work very part time from home, my husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's 18 months ago and I dread holiday times.
We live in a seaside town which is just heaving at the moment with the unexpectedly warm weather and for my husband, that means just one thing - lots of people to talk to! Whether or not they want to talk to him is another matter and something which he's unable to judge. He's also started to touch people as he approaches them, which isn't always well received. It's usually on the shoulder or back, but sometimes he strokes their hair. So far, he been pushed over twice by people trying to get away from him. I witnessed a young man yesterday screaming at him to **** off as my husband pursued him and his girlfriend down the road. I simply can't be with him all the time. Or, I could spend every day out on the street with him (up to 40 "walks" a day) and there'd be absolutely nothing done in the house. I tried taking him for longer walks, but he's not interested, he just wants to stand out on a busy road and talk to strangers. He can't follow conversations, so doesn't really know how they respond to him.
He's back to day care on Tuesday (goes 3 times a week) and although he'll be back home at 3.30 and will be out on the streets again soon after, at least I know that he's safe during the day. Maybe I should be pleased he goes out, when he's home it's back to back episodes of the Chase! I know it's the disease and not his fault, but sometimes I just look at our daily lives and wonder what happened.
We live in a seaside town which is just heaving at the moment with the unexpectedly warm weather and for my husband, that means just one thing - lots of people to talk to! Whether or not they want to talk to him is another matter and something which he's unable to judge. He's also started to touch people as he approaches them, which isn't always well received. It's usually on the shoulder or back, but sometimes he strokes their hair. So far, he been pushed over twice by people trying to get away from him. I witnessed a young man yesterday screaming at him to **** off as my husband pursued him and his girlfriend down the road. I simply can't be with him all the time. Or, I could spend every day out on the street with him (up to 40 "walks" a day) and there'd be absolutely nothing done in the house. I tried taking him for longer walks, but he's not interested, he just wants to stand out on a busy road and talk to strangers. He can't follow conversations, so doesn't really know how they respond to him.
He's back to day care on Tuesday (goes 3 times a week) and although he'll be back home at 3.30 and will be out on the streets again soon after, at least I know that he's safe during the day. Maybe I should be pleased he goes out, when he's home it's back to back episodes of the Chase! I know it's the disease and not his fault, but sometimes I just look at our daily lives and wonder what happened.