Working in a Joint with all Lazy People
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I have another doozy about my grandfather which involves working in a joint with all lazy people but first thank you for all the comments about my parents camp :(. We are bummed. It was a productive weekend cleaning out the garage and organizing the basement. My mom and I got a lot accomplished! If you follow us on Facebook and Instagram, I shared live stories of us working in the basement all weekend. If you want to see more about our new house, check out our new page called “Our Mediterranean Home.”
My visit with my grandfather this weekend proved to be one of the funniest yet. Almost as funny as the “flaming red haired pole dancer.” According to him, he changed all electrical outlets in the joint and was the only one working. He said everyone else is lazy and should be fired.
My eyes grew large and I said, “really gramp? You are the only one working? That’s terrible!” My dad just rolled his eyes and looked at us. You see, I play along with my grandfather’s stories and my dad can’t seem to play along. He just sits there and tries not to laugh.
(My gramp and I above just about a year ago)
My grandfather told me I needed to have a conversation with the big wheel at the Nursing Home (his work supervisor) because they won’t allow him to bend over and change the outlets.
You see, he is now stuck in his wheelchair and he is trying to bend over to the floor to change the outlets and they are afraid he is going to fall out of the wheel chair. In his brain, he thinks he is reaching for an outlet but in reality, he is grabbing nothing and almost falling out of his chair. I told him I would have a “talk” with them and see what I could do.
(This picture above was taken 2 years ago)
Working in a Joint with all Lazy People (Dementia Diaries)
The beautiful thing was when my dad and I left, he was exhausted and so happy he had done so much work. The funniest part of the whole story is that he said, he was the only one working. My dad and I laughed hysterically about that the entire way home. My grandfather can still somewhat maneuver around in his wheelchair and wheel himself around.
When he is perusing the hallway in his wheelchair, all he sees is people sitting in wheelchairs sleeping or not moving. Many also never get out of their beds so in his brain, they are all lazy and not helping him work. Can I just tell you, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be finding my grandfather’s decline in health funny but I just can’t help but find some of his stories outrageously funny. He really believes this stuff.
It’s amazing how his brain is living one life and in reality, he is living another. All I can say is I hope his delusions stay happy and funny. When my grandmother was alive, his delusions were terrible and made him mean towards my grandmother. He thought she was having affairs, hiding from him and doing naughty things. In reality, she was wheelchair bound and never left the house. I have seen over the past few years how Dementia and Alzheimer’s can wreak havoc on a loved one and their family. It’s no joke but we are happy to have the funny and nice side right now. Lets hope this version sticks around for a while. You can find more stories about my grandfather on our Dementia Diaries page.
Meet Jessica
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.
Bless you for sharing your visits with your Grandfather!!!! Also HUGS to your family with the loss of the lake house…..I have been visiting your blog as much as possible because my family is also dealing with so many similarities. My 83 father was diagnosed with bladder cancer in February 2015 and went thru many months of chemo and then a radical cystectomy in August 2015. There were complications (a nicked artery) and C.Diff infection so it took my father two and half months before he was released from the hospital and rehab. My brother, mother and myself (age 60) NEVER left my Dad alone. My dear husband has been taking care of his 88 year father since his Mom passed away. Unfortunately my 81 year mother herniated a disk in her back in December 2015 a month and a half after my Dad was sent home. She tried PT, lidocaine patches, etc. and finally had to receive a steroid shot to receive the pain. Sadly within 48 hours she experienced delusions and was hospitalized for several weeks….she had a bad UTI which went away with antibiotics but came back….she has since been diagnosed with MCI (mild cognitive decline)….Mom is not the same….cannot cook or drive the car…etc. So now my brother and I are full-time caretakers…me M-F and my brother on weekends. I apologize for the long comment…but could you share how the dementia start with your Grandpa? Was it gradual or sudden? You are an inspiration for the LOVE you show by living in a multi-generational home. We are now contemplating the same to continue loving and caring for our elderly parents. May your family have a BLESSES EASTER!!! And my condolences for the loss of your sweet Grandma!!
Holy smokes Deb that is a lot to handle! Wow, you guys have your hands full. My grandfather’s dementia started probably 10 years ago with signs of confusion but he was still functioning for the most part at 90%. He really didn’t decline to the state of hospitalization until about a year ago (although the year leading up to it was really bad). When you live with the loved one, you just kind of deal with it and accommodate their illness so it’s hard to know when enough is enough. My grandfather’s delusions while my gram was alive were really bad. He was mean and nasty some of the time and that’s when we had him admitted to hospital for a month to get on meds. He was a danger to himself and the rest of the household. I guess if the delusional episodes are not hurting anyone (or themselves), it’s manageable. We just kind of played along and went about our daily lives but once my grandfather started leaving the house and being confused and was an angry crazy person, we had to get him help. Good luck with everything you have going on and stay in touch 🙂
My mother has dementia, also was sent to the hospital from the assisted living place my parents were living at, diagnosed with a UTI, medicated & something happened. She was walking, talking, eating, dressing herself, putting her make up on, jewelry etc. — came out of the hospital nearly a vegetable, stopped talking, going to the bathroom herself, eating herself, in a wheelchair, can’t do anything herself anymore. I had to fight like mad to get her off the meds they put her on. What are they doing to our parents in the hospital??? My dad went into the hospital for an x-ray of his ankle, they decided to keep him. I went to pick him up the next day and suddenly I am surrounded by people talking about hospice! They wouldn’t let him eat or drink anything. This man was at Lone Star w/me a few days before knocking back steak, baked potato & a beer, talking politics. He begged me to take him out but I listened to the doctor who said he needed to stay, then without telling me, sent him into hospice. He was dead 2 days later. I’m hearing too many similar stories from everyone. I’ve told my daughter, leave me home!
I’m happy that your Gramps is doing well. My Auntie use to tell me you have to laugh at things, otherwise you’ll go crazy. So true!
Looking forward to Gramps next adventure!
This is such a great story, certainly not the situation. You have to recognize joy wherever you find it . Your grandfather’s thoughts bring so much joy into so many lives. We had relatives that were the same way and it just seemed to make them so much more endearing. NONE of it was mean spirited, it was all joy and LOVE. May God bless your family everyday with something joyful. TFS. Hugs to all and TFS.
Hi Jessica. Love your dementia diaries and your blog. Have the nursing home put a chair alarm on your grandfather’s wheelchair. It will sound an alarm when he bends over. It might help prevent a fall.
It is good that he’s showing the funny and nice side right now. I think it’s great that you play along with his stories. A teacher I used to sub for, her mom also would say funny things, and she would just go along with it. Like, she would think they were going to meet for lunch at her workplace around the corner, so the teacher would just agree and said they would meet there for lunch later.
So happy for you that your Gramps is having wonderful delusions/thoughts. When I was finally able to accept my Dad’s Alzheimer’s then I was able to play along and laugh. Many of those times are now cherished memories. Dad lived with me and we had Hospice for 18 months after he was finally diagnosed. The decline physically was hard to watch and he did have his mean and sometimes physical stage. But then he became like your Gramp. The one thing that I am so thankful for—he never forgot who I was. One time he called me by my Mom’s name but immediately corrected himself saying I was just as pretty as she was. Mom had died six years before Dad.
Thanks for sharing your life—know that I keep all of you in my prayers and thoughts.
I love to hear these stories of your Grandfather. My mother suffers the same ills and no longer says much. So we wonder what she is thinking and feeling all of the time. Sometimes we can tell that she seems to be having a good day and others not so much. Thank you for sharing his adventures with us all. Enjoy the wonderful stories for now and be thankful that he has them.
THis made me laugh and cry. You captured so well the struggle, and you can laugh.