Moving day went great! Hi everyone! Hope you are all well and safe!

The days for me have all melted into a huge ball of ” no idea what today is”, but I am not in the least concerned! I usually stay aware of the days with my pill dispenser thing, however, I haven’t filled it, so I’m lost.

I loaded my pill bottles into my purse a few days before moving as I was so scared to loose them in the move; there was a definate possibility of misplacing or mislabeling a box so I just dumped them in my bag. Now I’m completely out of sorts with the date and day of the week…..once again , Blursday. I’ll catch up later, no biggie.

This morning I made breakfast for my oldest grandchildren and my son in law, it was wonderful. I also made a deal with my grandkids that if they make their beds ( rather, pull the sheets and comforters up to make it look neat, lol) for 30 days, they will get $50.00 each at the end of 30 days. Boy, were they excited!

THEN I told them the rules, bahahaha! No freebies.

I will admit I always cave when it comes to my grandkids, much to the dismay of my daughter and son in law. But this time I vow to stay strong ( lol).

The rules are: out of bed, make your bed, keep it neat and clean, 30 days. No excuses; if you need a reminder, if you ” just forgot”, no reward, the cycle starts again at day 31. That’s it!

Now let’s be clear, that may be a long 30 days, possible sad faces and all sorts, but I’m hoping for self accomplishment and awareness, goal setting and participation. I love them and I know they can do it! I hope I don’t bend any rules.

Next…..

Without a doubt, the move drove my pain levels through the roof! It also added a strange amount of confusion in me, so much so that my daughter became concerned at one point and told me to lay down.

In addition, over the past few weeks I’ve had slight swelling in my hands and feet, nothing uncomfortable, but I’ve been aware and monitored it. But over the course of 3 days, my feet, both top and bottom running up my calves and shins, as well, my hands, fingers and forearms all racked with nerve pain, swelling and redness; throbbing. Stupid new things.

There was also highly aggravated nerve pain so deep inside my legs and my lower back , spine and hips that I couldn’t walk standing straight.

My granddaughter, who is 2, goes down the stairs on her bum, I used this technique a number of times.

To be clear, I do not have arthritis. I do not have old injuries or once broken bones, I have good bone density, still strong muscles although I have loss some muscle mass. This is nerve pain. The sensory receptors, likely in my parietal lobe, are causing this. The swelling, well, it may be from my medication to block the nerve receptors or it could be dementia related deterioration in the brain somewhere.

My doctor changed my pills and dosage, but the change is still within the same family of pills. I have to report back in one week, via video telemed, during Covid, she will view my feet, legs and hands remotely, I better shave my legs. Until then, I’m just taking it easy, feet up and resting.

I got a small hand rail send by my Occupational Therapist, I never knew how much I needed it until I used it just once. I cannot believe how long I let myself struggle.

It’s a hard thing, sometimes, to understand that you need help, much less ask for it or admit it. With dementia, you develop ways around actions to keep things moving, to remain productive and independent. It is hard to come to terms with what is slowly becoming out of reach. No one wants to feel unwhole.

As a care partner, the importance of understanding how hard it is to let go and accept help is important; remaining insightful, empathetic, and intuitive is essential.

As a person living with dementia, please don’t let it go as long as I have for some things. That is so hard to do, I know, but I also know that allowing yourself to let go of the small things allows you to flourish with the bigger things. I could kick myself for not taking my own advise sooner. I love you guys, XO, we must choose to be kind to ourselves more often. XO

Stay well my Friends xo Jan xo

This video is me! It’s 7 seconds of fun!