Update on Grandpa's health

Grandpa and Sammy are buds. He loves when we bring them to visit. And Sammy loves hanging out on Grandpa's lap.

For the past 2 years, Grandpa just hasn't been the same. He had open heart surgery and had to stop working and then he fell and broke a couple of ribs. The he and Grandma moved to Grundy so they and Mom and Dad could all live together. After the move, he continued to get worse; was disinterested in going out, didn't want to find new coffee buddies, and started to want to lay in bed most hours of the day. Some days his mental health was really in question.

He was on some very strong pain meds and was really having some side effects from them. Long story short, there was an incident at the house and we ended up having him evaluated and his meds evaluated. He got a little better, and we realized the meds were really messing with him, but it became pretty clear that he was frail and was declining and he wouldn't get to go back home.

We took him to a nursing home, but there was another incident and he had to go back to the hospital. His health declined greatly and we weren't sure how much longer he would make it. Then he got sick with pneumonia and they began stopping his meds. The old Grandpa started to come back quickly. That's when we realized how much the pain meds affected him. Well, he complains he is in pain, so it's a catch-22. Don't give him the meds and he has pain; Do and his mental state is altered.....

So he has been in another nursing home since this summer. We know from a brain scan a while back he has dementia but never really knew how bad it is. For a long time, he was very lucid and he seemed fine and we have all found ourselves wondering if he was in the right place. Then something would happen and he mentally wasn't the same again. It's been a huge weight on everyone wondering if we are doing the right thing.

So finally we decided to investigate this dementia/Alzheimer's situation. First I called a friend who works with the elderly to find out where I can get resources and found a local Alz Association here in town. They sent us some information and the doctor list for the area. We decided to take him to a neurologist and just plain get answers. We have never been through dementia before so we just don't know anything about it.

I learned there are different kinds of dementia and they behave differently and progress differently...and I learned about 50 other new things.

I was not ready to just draw the line at he has dementia, off to the nursing home we go. I know he will likely never go home, but I felt we were doing him a disservice by getting this evaluated and not getting him appropriate care for his condition. As I told Dad, he goes to a heart doctor for his heart and we'd take him to a cancer doctor if he had cancer. If he is having mental issues, we need to see a specialist. I was tired of his family doctor just saying this was it and we should deal with it. Deal with what exactly? Deal how?

So this week we got to have that appointment and he also went to his heart doctor. It was a great day of evaluation and information. Here's what we know:

• He has been complaining of his side hurting for more than 2 years (that's why the pain meds). He was told it was his shingles, or the ribs not healing properly. He is convinced that is wires they had going into his chest that they snipped off in recovery. His heart doctor told him he might not be crazy...it could be that there is something there. So he had an x-ray, and we'll find out soon what it is.


• The neurologist said he does have hardening of arteries in his brain, but that it is typical for his age.


• He has some dementia, but further testing will determine what kind


• In March, he will undergo the testing that will determine what kind of dementia


• Even one pain med can cause memory issues (he has been on some of the strongest)


• People his age can be very sensitive to pain meds


• Vitamin deficiencies can cause memory and dementia like symptoms


• He is wanting to ween off all his pain meds to see what he can cut back to (they've already started this a little bit)


• There may be things we can do to slow the dementia down


• While he definitely has dementia, some of the above things may be making it look worse than it really is at this point


• We totally did the right thing by visiting the neurologist

We left there feeling like we were going to get some answers and be able to deal with what is happening and what the future holds...and he is totally on board with the whole process.

He knows he has some dementia and agreed that he wanted to find out what is happening to him, what will come and wants to be a part of the treatment while he can be. He is on board with doing the testing and I think feels like he just wants to have all of the information all of the time.

So this was a great day and he was so excited to hear that his heart doctor is going to investigate his side pain and that he is going to get some testing to just find out where he is mentally.

It was kind of fun to sit next to him in the waiting room explaining to him what the doctor said while Grandma got his information squared away. The doctor had an accent and I think was kind of hard for him to understand. I asked him questions about what was said and what it all means. He was eager to give the answers and learn more. It was great to see him engaging in the world again.

As we left the doctor's office, he gave me a great big hug. Seeing the excitement and joy he got out of us pursuing this process was all worth it.

We go back next Friday so the neurologist can evaluate his lab work and just make sure there is nothing else going on that should be treated while we wait for the day of testing in March.

One more thing I know for sure: No matter what comes out of it or what the prognosis is, this appointment was definitely the right thing...

Channeling a sleepless night

So, here's what happens when you channel insomnia and can't do anything that really requires your brain. You change the format of your blog and copy the code to make it 3 columns after wanting to do it for a year!

I also am working on re-vamping my training blog and making it into a new one that helps me document each race and memories from those days.

So I'm not thankful for a sleepless night, but I'm thankful for finding something productive to do!

Insomnia bites

I had a good morning with Gma, Gpa, and Dad, got off work early, had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Bradley, got to watch some TiVo and to read before bed.

I hardly ever have insomnia. Sometimes it's takes me a while to wind down to go to sleep, but rarely insomnia.

I laid in bed for nearly 30 minutes with no luck. So I broke out some tea (a kind that usually makes me sleepy), I broke out the computer which usually makes me drowsy, and am going to try more reading...I can usually only get through 3 pages before I am sleeping and my book falls over. (Which, as a side note, is why it takes me a year to read a book...I can't stay awake long enough!)

I wonder if it's because I worked short day and didn't get all the computer screen stimulation all day long....Who knows....

All I know is it's 3am, and here I am. Insomnia bites.

My seriously fabulous husband

Brad had been planning a birthday party for me on Sunday, with football, games, family, and friends. I knew he was planning the party, but I wasn't expecting this.

So when I came home Saturday night (well, Sunday morning at 4am) I found the house spic and span, the kitchen table decorated with Happy Birthday confetti, party hats and balloons.

He also left me these, from him, Sammy, and Sophie.

The party was a great, fun time, and he bought me a cake from Hansen's Dairy....it was to die for.

He also took care of my fantasy football so I could sleep, and he made sure we had everything for my favorite, Leanne's queso.

Seriously...He has really starting spoiling me.

Grandpa's Day Out

Today we went to visit Grandpa at the nursing home. We are able to take him out for as long as we want. After we visited the Matchstick Museum, I thought that he would really enjoy it. He used to do wood working and he was in the military, so I figured it would be up his alley, and it's right in town. He really had a great time and is looking forward to telling the nurses and other residents about the museum. He had been talking to people about it and was amazed how many people from Gladbrook didn't know it was there or hadn't been there. I think he may recruit them some business!

I think it was just the right amount of time out for him. Good day!


Grandpa and I in front of the USS Iowa


In front of the US Capitol

A belated Thank You

Thank you to all of my friends and family who have served. Also to the families of those who serve. Your sacrifices and dedication to the freedoms of this great country are immeasurable.

Always Grateful,

A

Sending special hugs to my friend Connie who is in the middle of the war right now. Stay safe and we love you!

Running

I have recently been trying to reconnect with my inner-runner. Before we moved away from Virginia, I trained decently for my races and still felt like I didn't run enough and that I didn't always have energy to run. Then I moved to Iowa...And I met my match. I met what it was like to be even more tired and have even less time. I have run four 5k's since we moved here. For the first three, I definitely did not train much. But I kept signing up so that I didn't gravitate away from running even if I was busy.

The Five Sullivan Brothers Memorial 5k was on Saturday. I actually ran a few days the last couple of weeks and was happy that I got to do that much! Then Friday happened....I ended up being at work until 2:30am to help with some testing. I was to run at 9am. I got to bed about 3:30am (I had to eat, since I wouldn't be eating before the race). I woke at 7am when work called.

As I rolled out of bed, I told Brad maybe this is a sign I shouldn't be doing this. After all, he had gone to pick up Dad and I's race packets and they didn't have my registration. Ugh. What?!

But I put on my HR monitor, my Nike Vomeros, and the Nano and we all headed to downtown. It was a great race to be a part of, given the sacrifice of the Sullivan family. One of the granddaughters of the Sullivan brothers was there and spoke before the race....it was hard to not be emotional. Lots of Navy cadets were there as part of their training.

I just thought, if our service members can do what they do every day, I can suck this up and run this 3.1 miles. I could see Dad in front of me, so I kept pushing. When I got a block from the finish line, a friend from work, Dale had already finished the 10k and spotted me. He started cheering me on and then ran with me for almost a block! How cool is that?! You'll have to wait for pictures until my mom sends them, because I forgot our camera.

It wasn't my best race, but here's my racing philosophy for those who aren't familiar:

• I'm the slowest runner I know....maybe ever in my age group...and it's ok
• I'm only competing against myself, my asthma, and my pesky elevated heart rate
• I don't care if I finish last, as long as I finish.
• It's nice to beat and improve my times, but it's not always going to happen
• I learn something during every race; about myself, strides, pacing, music choices, tips from others, or whatever. I have a memory from every race that helps me the next time.
• Even if I don't beat my good times, I have done more on a race day than 99% of people will do all week.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't lost my competitive self (when it comes to everything else I'm fiercely competitive) I am just aware of medical limitations I have: My asthma does make breathing harder than for most poeople and my heart rate, well, if I don't take proper precautions, it could literally kill me. And I am realistic: You cannot log fantastic times when you are fatigued, under trained, over worked, under rested, and aren't eating well. I've run enough races now, that I know pretty much where I will fall with time based on how I have been feeling and taking care of myself all week.

So I know some very avid runners; a couple who will run all the way through this brutal winter I'm sure we'll have. It's not an ideal time to start getting my run on again, but I'm starting to have more time. I was thinking, gosh,I might not be able to run much, until I talked to a few people who run unless it's really icy. I have no excuse. I have enough clothes to run when it's zero. So I shall.

After an adjustment and massage tomorrow (I am horridly out of alignment after last week & the race), I will be hitting the pavement again. I am trying to decide if I will do the Snow Shuffle in December.

I think we all know the answer. :)

And since I agree with Becky that posts are boring without pictures, here you go:

-- It doesn't matter if I finish last, as long as I finish --

(The finish line at the Park to Park 5k in September)

Dellit Red Dot Adventures: Winding Stairs & Matchsticks

When Brad and I were making the 20+ hour trip back to Iowa from Virginia, I was browsing through the atlas and noticed all of the red dots. They typically mark historical places or places of interest. I realized how many things I never knew were in Iowa because when we lived here before, we were busy going to school and working alot. We decided that we would spend some time traveling around and see as many of the "red dots" as we could.

Today we were going to visit Grandpa in Gladbrook. Brad saw a Matchstick Marvels museum in Gladbrook so we decided we would check it out. I also mentioned the winding stairs in Traer (which is on the way) but Brad had never heard of them.

So off we went, on our first adventure. It was so good, we told Grandpa we are taking him to the Matchstick Museum next week.

Matchstick Marvels website

Winding Stairs in Traer website




Sammy and Sophie in the back of the truck wondering what in the world we are doing.

Me and Sammy at the winding stairs

If you look closely, you can see all 4 of us at the bottom of the stairs.

A lady bug that kept flying around the truck. Apparently she was in need of an adventure, too.

Matchstick Marvels in Gladbrook. Turns out that there is one model in every Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in the country.

The Lord of the Rings castle, Minas Tirith in progress. He thinks it will be done next year. So far, there are 420,000 matchsticks

The Cutty Sark - 38,000 matchsticks

The US Capitol - 478,000 matchsticks

For all you Harry Potter fans: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry! This one was sold and is on display in Spain -- so this is only a picture.

For the rest of the picture see Facebook or Shutterfly

The Return of the Blogger

So it's been a while since I have been on the blogging circuit, It's been a very busy spring and summer, as we expected, but fall hasn't let up much. I still love my job, but I also really enjoy my time away, at home and traveling.

Brad has been plugging away at things he wanted to do to the house as soon as we got here and I have hardly done a thing. Of course, I have my to do list that I want to get done, most of which went on hold during the summer, as we planned. But now my list is getting longer and when it includes things like reading, yoga, spending time with friends and family, and running and I haven't been able to do them, I just get grouchy. This week I took an extra day off, just have an extended weekend and get some things done.

So what's been going on around Casa de Dellit? Well, the biggest news that's brewing right now, is that my youngest sister, Jessica is pregnant again! She and her boyfriend Curt are ecstatic and we couldn't be happier for them. She is due in July and I can't wait to meet the little one that Tiffany has affectionately named Bean. (Sorry to those who aren't up to speed, but Jessica and her husband broke up earlier this year. I'm just really behind on blogging).

Speaking of Bean, our good friends Ryan and Tana are also expecting so there will be two little Beans to meet next year!

My dad has caught the running bug and has been much more dedicated that I have been since the move. He is up early and on the track and just finished his 3rd 5k last weekend. We are running one this weekend - the Five Sullivan Brothers Memorial 5k. He said he is in the best shape of his life, which is so cool, I can't explain. Especially since two years ago he tore his quad muscles off his knee cap (yes, OUCH) and had surgery to reattach them.

I am logging more time on the trail now that I have been all summer, too bad the weather is getting colder! I need to revamp my training blog I had going so that I can get all my races and times up there. My times since we moved haven't been great, due to my lack of training, but they are keeping the running bug in my blood. I was thinking the other day about how I have been running only for a year and a half and all that I have accomplished. I also was thinking about all of the people who are running now which is fun. My bro in law Jarrod has recently also finished his first half marathon, so there are lots of people around to keep me motivated!

Brad is still on the job hunt and expanded his search to Cedar Rapids. He is hoping to still find something here, to avoid a 50-60 minute commute, especially in the winter. In the mean time, he takes the dogs to the dog park and takes care of pretty much everything he can around the house. He's got all the tech geek stuff wired the way he wants and got to do some things to this house that he didn't get to do in Virginia.

My grandpa is doing well and we are at a bit of a new crossroads with him. We know from a scan he had a couple of years ago that his has some dementia, but we don't know how bad and we don't know how much has been caused by medications. It was clear over Memorial Day that medications have contributed to his mental state and once they were stable, he was much more lucid. He had a relapse a while ago and is back in the Alzheimer's section of the nursing home. He is very lucid much of the time, it's just those few moments he's not that we would worry about him being at home. He wants to know why he is really there and what he could do to go home. I tell him that we have done what we need to do to protect him and keep him safe and even though he might not love it, we love having him around. If he wasn't safe at home, we might not have him. Recently we decided to take him to an Alzheimer's doctor to find out exactly where he is and how we should handle it. I think there is a lot of anxiety over whether or not we have/are doing the right things. I think if we get to a professional who can help us understand how this works and what we should do, everyone will feel better, including him. He knows that he has something (be it Alz or something else) he just wants an explanation...and who can blame him. Brad has some things sent from the Alz Association this week that explains how we should proceed and I told him today that I would bring it to go over this week and that we'll find a doctor and get the process going. I think part of him is just glad to now be involved in his care and knowing what's going on, which hasn't always been possible.

We have been able to have friends over for a few parties to enjoy catching up, birthdays, and football. It's been nice re-connecting with people we haven't seen in such a long time.

It's that time of year when sports is full throttle in our house. Football is full swing, NASCAR is winding down, basketball is just starting, and the World Series is on. With the Yankees in the series, there's still alot of baseball passion in this house!

Sammy and Sophie are great....Sophie turned 1 this week. Sammy will be 3 in a month. They continue to be bundles of unconditional love and Sammy wants to cuddle every second I'm home.

We started up our travels again with a trip to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. We went with our Virginia friends Mike, Lisa, Kristine, and Nolan. Also Scott and Diane, who live in Vegas now, and Mike and Lisa's friend, Shannon from Philly. It was a great vacation and great to see lifetime friends we haven't seen in a while. I loved Vegas and want to go back to spend a few days watching shows. We walked to spend as much time with friends as we could so we skipped the shows on this trip. I thought that Vegas would be a place I wanted to go once and would have no desire to go back to. Boy was I wrong! This is partially the same group we went to New Orleans with last year and we already started talking about where we are going to meet them all next year.

Well, the World Series has started, so time to change from my running clothes to my Jeter t-shirt. Go Yankees! No, I haven't converted to a Yankees fan, but when you're a Cubs fan, it's nice that your husband loves a winning team so you have some things to cheer about during baseball season!

The furry kids

I haven't posted pictures of the furry kids in a while. Here are some pictures from this spring & summer.


I've obviously not be home enough. He is holding on to my arm with all 4 of his paws while he is sleeping.


Mommy....Sophie is taking up all of the blanket in the car....



Are you EVER going to feed us?

Mommy's sweatshirt is so comfortable.

Ohhhhh, I'm NOT supposed to jump on my kennel to get toys?

Hello???? Treat for potty please!