An Even Keel

I guess when dealing with someone with Alzheimer's, that's all you can ask for - an even keel. A day like today when he slept most of the day and only had a couple minor bouts of "run for the door" that could be easily thwarted. Yesterday was a bad day. He spent all day trying to get out of the house - and thus the majority of the day restrained. Dad will go outside in his stocking feet and trudge through the snowbanks. And when the exits are all covered, he'll kick at the windows trying to break them out to crawl out. I don't understand the incessant need to wander. We have set up a pretty efficient restraint in a favorite chair. His own safety demands it. Though it breaks your heart to see this once vibrant and productive man reduced to this. He was a paramedic who devoted his time freely to the local ambulance and scuba rescue squad for fifty years!

With his medication finally calming him down for days on end, I am finding time to wander off by myself for a bit. Tuesday I'll be spending all day at the library - I can hardly wait! In the meantime, I'm hoping to run out and get some Chinese food this weekend. I haven't had any in almost 6 years and I can hardly wait. Things are pretty good when dad's on an even keel....