Love | jmgoyder

Ago

by jmgoyder

‘Ago’ is a word I have never thought about until this afternoon. Now, I miss ago.

Lately, I haven’t been able to find the right words to describe Anthony’s condition as it ebbs away. A few days ago, he was so incredibly, cheekily, the Ants from many years ago; the next day he was like someone comatosed; today, as I left, he asked me to get four pieces of steak for tea.

Physically, he and I both cope well. After all, at the moment, Ants has very little physical pain, and me being a young girl (ha!) of 56, driving from farm to town to see him is not a big deal.

One of the many lovely staff at the nursing home sent me this picture of Ants during an animal visit activity. Thank you so much Chloe!

This has inspired me to take Blaze (mini-dachshund) in to see Ants tomorrow again. Blaze (son of Inky 2 and Doc 4) will remind us of once ago.

Long
ago.

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Swings and roundabouts 2

by jmgoyder

The two photos I put up in yesterday’s post had absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote and I only added them because, having been on the phone for nearly two hours, trying to get the internet back from its little holiday, I could! So here is my attempt to interpret what those two photos (and a few others) actually mean.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Prince – white peacock
Martha and Mary – the two white chooks
Whoopie – the new chook with the fancy hairdo

Prince: What the hell?
Mary to Martha: Quick! Hide! There’s a huge creature on the other side of the fence!

Martha to Mary: I think it’s okay. He just did this little purry thing in his throat. Anyway, we’re safe in this yard.
Mary: A purry thing! Martha, do you not realise that he is probably flirting with us?
Martha: Yeah, but you have to admit he is kind of cute.
Mary: Cut your beak off, Martha!

Prince: I’m not sure whether these strange, short, ugly things are my cup of tea after all.
Mary: See, Martha, not only does he talk to himself, he’s insulting. Ignore him!

Prince: Okay, so I’m not that good at introductions, but to be rejected so soon by these two whatever-they-ares is very disturbing.

Prince: Indifference hurts.

Whoopie: Is the coast clear yet?

Note 1: Whoopie was given to me by a friend who breeds beautiful poultry – thanks so much, Jane!

Note 2: When I first began writing this blog, Anthony was still at home, but ailing. We started to accumulate guinnea fowl and chooks because Ants remembered having these as a young boy/teenager and I wanted to cheer us all up. But then I got a teensy bit carried away with the whole bird thing (as past blog posts reveal ha!) It’s good, now, to begin again with just a few chooks…. even though this bewilders the peacocks!

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Swings and roundabouts

by jmgoyder

Yesterday I said, rather blithely, “I refuse to be sad” (about Anthony’s Parkinson’s disease etc.). This morning I realised why it’s possible for me to say this.

Anthony isn’t sad!

It’s as simple as that. Okay, so saddish moments come and go, and the first year of him being in the nursing home was a hell of mutual sorrow. But, in retrospect, it was me shedding most of the tears, not Anthony. In fact often, when I left to come home, he would comfort me.

But it’s now that matters and in-the-now neither of us is sad, which is a bit of a miracle really. The weird irony is that I would not be able to cope with Anthony’s illnesses if it weren’t for his own emotional resilience. I’m not very good at emotional resilience, but Ants is.

People often think that the person in the nursing home is the vulnerable one and that he or she is the one in need of comfort. But sometimes it’s the other way around; it’s the visiting spouse or daughter, or grandson, or friend, who is in need of comfort.

Anthony comforts me!

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Sep 30

‘Who’s that silly old fool?’
by jmgoyder

I showed Anthony these photos just after I took them with my phone the other day. They’re a bit blurry and way too close-uppish but I wanted to show him what he looks like sometimes.

The first photo shows his usual facial expression. This is often termed the ‘Parkinson’s mask’ and is due to the fact that the facial muscles aren’t working very well.

Anthony: Who’s that silly old fool?
Me: It’s you!
Anthony: Ghastly.

So then I tried to make Anthony look me in the eyes by shouting “Look me in the eyes or I’ll bop you!” Ants and I have discovered that this rather dramatic method works well.

Anthony’s smile, trapped for so long inside that Parkinsonism mask, has, as I’ve said before, begun to occur more and more.

Ming disagrees with me because he says that whenever he enters Anthony’s room, he is greeted with that smile. What he doesn’t realise is that his visits are excitingly unexpectedly haphazard, whereas mine are (perhaps) boringly regular.

When I showed Ants that last photo of his smile, he took my hand in his and kissed it exactly ten times before saying…

Anthony: Who’s that silly old fool?

Me: My hero.

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Sep 29

An auspicious occasion
by jmgoyder

Here is a photo of my dearest old friend and me at his wedding brunch the other day.

My dearest old friend, who I have known for over 40 years, got married last week and on Saturday morning a group of us celebrated at a beautiful apple orchard up in the Perth hills.

My dearest old friend, and his partner of 17 years, exchanged rings, and spoke of their love for each other eloquently; a priest, who has known my friend for longer than I have, gave a heart-felt blessing; and then two other friends toasted the happy couple. I had the honour of sitting on my friend’s right hand side during a delicious brunch.

My dearest old friend makes me laugh like nobody else can, cooks the best shepherd’s pie ever; performed Anthony’s and my own wedding ceremony; and was the first person (other than Anthony) to see baby Ming.

My dearest old friend is the only person in the world who can convince me to wear ‘a frock’ (well, I compromised by wearing a skirt).

I am so happy for my dearest old friend and his partner!

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Sep 28

Dilemma
by jmgoyder

Last week I received the following email:

Dear Julie,
I am writing with regard to your book titled We’ll be Married in Fremantle. Given increasing warehouse costs, we have had to review the amount of stock that we are holding for a number of titles where sale numbers each year are low. Unfortunately this book is among those selected to be removed from stock. We would, however, like to offer you the opportunity to purchase as many of these copies as you choose at a price which will cover our costs of shipping and handling….
CEO of … Press

Initially I felt humiliated, then I realised that it is now a rather ‘old’ book, having been published in 2001. I also comforted myself by realising that most of the 5,000 books had sold and I could rescue the 300 or so remainders from being pulped at very little cost. I am still deciding what to do.

It’s not that I have any intention of on-selling the books; I certainly don’t want to have 300 or so copies of my own book on my bookcase to remind me that it wasn’t a bestseller; and this dilemma has nothing to do with ego.

During the time of writing my PhD, then re-writing it into a book (several years altogether), I remember being absolutely driven. I wanted passionately to write something that would change attitudes to people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. And my thesis/argument was so simple: listen, and respond to, the stories, even when they don’t make sense.

So I have a few creative ideas of what to do with those 300 or so copies IF I decide to rescue them from obsolescence.

Prince and Princess don’t have to worry about these kinds of things – oh to be a bird!

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Sep 23

There’s ‘a Julie’ in the mirror.
by jmgoyder

There is something beautiful about the fact that sometimes Anthony will see the same camellias I picked for him days ago as today’s – new and fresh.

The other day, as I was leaving Ants to come home, he spotted my reflection in his wardrobe mirror. (His armchair is in one corner of the room and, if he turns his head to the right, he can see himself in this mirror).

Anthony: There’s a Julie over there.

Me: (turning to face myself in this mirror) Yes, that’s me … actually that’s US in the mirror.

Anthony: Oh, of course.

Me: You idiot!
(Don’t be alarmed; Anthony quite likes a bit of gentle verbal abuse now and then).

Apart from the visual hallucinations (often of cats which is weird because Anthony doesn’t like cats), there is also a certain amount of visual confusion lately. Ants’ view to the left is through a window overlooking a lawned area where he often sees cattle; the newsreaders and/or characters on television are sometimes mistaken for real people to whom Anthony will often respond verbally; his walker can become a lawnmower; the staff going up and down the hallway are ‘kids’ or ‘teachers’ or long-deceased relatives; and the blanket on his knees (lately a source of enormous confusion as the day progresses) is unrecognisable to him as a blanket until ….

Me: Will you stop pushing the blanket off! I thought you were cold, Ants!

Anthony: It’s just … I don’t know what this is, Jules.

Me: It’s a blanket, to keep you warm, so I’m going to put it back on your lap and put your hands under it and, if you move, I will bop you!

Anthony: You’re beautiful when you’re angry.

Me: Argh!

This particular blanket has a tartan pattern and a fringe, and is one of ours from home. Other rugs and blankets (particularly those with patterns of any kind) can really confuse Anthony, but I have only recently realised this. For example, if the pattern is one of flowers, Ants might see these as real flowers and want to touch or rearrange them.

None of these visual hallucinations/misrecognitions currently cause Anthony undue distress, especially when I am with him. On the other hand, I sometimes wonder what he might be ‘seeing’ when I’m not there. When I think about this too much, I get worried, so I mostly try not to think about it for the sake of my own peace of mind. After all he is in good care.

But I just wish I could somehow leave myself in that wardrobe mirror so that whenever Anthony glanced to the right I’d be there….

…. like the camellias.

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Sep 22

A brief moment of panic
by jmgoyder

Yesterday morning I received a phone-call from the nursing home manager to say that Anthony had had a ‘turn’, most probably a TIA (transient ischemic attack or mini-stroke). He has had these before but this time he was unresponsive for ten minutes.

As I rushed into town, I experienced a brief moment of panic even though I knew Ants had recovered from the TIA, because the more of these he has the more likely it is that he will have a serious stroke. On the other hand, he has been having TIAs from well before I knew what they were and twice, when he was still living at home, I had to call the ambulance. And, during his years in the nursing home I suspect he has had more of them than anyone realises because he sleeps a lot anyway.

Four years ago, at the huge 75th Ming and I held for him here, I remember being fairly certain it would be Anthony’s last birthday. His prostate cancer was well advanced and so was the parkinson’s. Daily tasks had become extremely difficult for him and I was exhausted. Perhaps it was this exhaustion that made me more accepting of the fact that he might die soon.

But now that all his care needs are fulfilled by the nursing home and I have the leisure to simply enjoy Anthony’s company, the thought that he might die soon is unbearable. Having outlived his prognoses by several years already, I have become used to the idea that he will continue to live for a long time.

So the thought that he might either die or become even more incapacitated by a stroke is horrifying. I can’t imagine my life without him but maybe I should prepare myself a bit. Who knows?

Anthony’s fortitude amazes me; he is so resilient! When I said to him yesterday, “You had one of those mini-strokes again, Ants”, he retorted, “No I didn’t – I just fainted.”

But for the rest of the day he kept hold of of my hands with both of his until I left to come home with the usual goodbye.

Anthony: Don’t be long, Jules.

Julie: I’ll be back soon, my beautiful man!

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Sep 18

Leaps and bounds!
by jmgoyder

Gardening: I have planted vegetables in one of the beds that Jake (my lawn and gardener friend) has created for me. I have no idea whether these lettuce, cucumber, corn, parsley and tomato seedlings will grow up but here’s hoping. I’m a bit too nervous to ring Jake and ask if I have planted these things in the right places – i.e. should they be in the grave-like mounds or in the gullies? Just in case, I did both.

Chooks: Six quite different chickens are gradually getting used to each other with minimal violence. They have a lovely yard so hopefully peace will soon reign.

Lunch: I seem to be going out to lunch a lot lately which is something I only ever did very occasionally before Anthony went into the nursing home. This feeling of freedom is relatively new to me. It was always there of course and Anthony was never one of those dominating, bossy husbands who insisted on the adding cream and more butter and salt to the mashed potatoes. Wait a sec. – yes he did!

WELL, IT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING, YOU GARDENING, CHOOKING, LUNCHING PEOPLE!

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Sep 18

Parallel universe
by jmgoyder

I think one of the things that is most bewildering, if you are caring for someone with dementia, is the fine line between present-tense lucidity and remembered lucidity.

For example, when I visited Anthony the other day, he was eager to tell me the latest news:

Anthony: Have you seen the news, Jules? We have a new prime minister.

Me: Yes, I saw that too.

Okay, so the above shows how absolutely ‘on the ball’ Anthony can be especially when it comes to current events. I always leave the news channel on his television before I come home because he has always loved watching the news.

But the very next thing Anthony said amazed me ….

Anthony: Mum will be shocked!

This is the kind of conversation that always gives me pause as I try to process the fact that Anthony has, within less than a minute, conflated the reality of now with the reality of over three decades ago. It sometimes seems extraordinary to me that Anthony can so expertly move between eras in the space of a couple of sentences.

Perhaps this is why what used to seem tragic to me has now become fascinating, and sometimes even comforting. After all, I loved Anthony’s mother, who we younger ones called ‘Gar’ so I was catapulted into nostalgia-land briefly, remembering her canny opinions on politics.

Me: Do you think she approves of the leadership change?

Anthony: Yes, but is she all right?

Me: She’s fine, Ants.

One of the last things Gar said to me as she lay in the hospital bed, dying, and I held her hand, was, “You will look after Anthony won’t you”, and I promised her I would. When I made that promise, Ants and I were still eons away from having a romantic relationship, let alone a marriage! So, in retrospect, it was a bit of a far-fetched promise, but I meant it.

Of course, as a teenager, I had no idea how things would all unfold. It is uncanny now to be reassuring Anthony (who is approaching the age Gar was when she died) that she is all right.

‘Parallel universe’ seems to be the phrase that best describes the strange but wonderful space in which Anthony and I connect, cognitively and emotionally.

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