The old 45 and 73 rpm vinyl records would ocassionally get stuck and play the same line of music over and over again until someone moved the needle (for those of you 35 or younger you may have no clue as to what I'm referring to, but thank God you have Google and you can google it!)Well, it seems as though those with Alzheimer's also get stuck playing the same broken record, over and over until someone distracts them.
Recently the doctor added the little pink pill call Namenda to Mother's pill box. For years Mother has not known the name of the medicines she takes, but merely the color of the medicine. "I take a blue one, a tiny yellow one, a medium yellow and a big red one." Believe me, it causes great frustration for all of us when the drug manufacturer changes the size, shape and color of one of Mother's pills.
Adding Namenda to her pill box is no different. I added the pill a few days ago. Each day before she takes her meds she comes to find me and asks, should I also take this pink pill? Yes, is my answer and off she goes to take the pink pill. On her way back upstairs to take her pill, she is distracted and I once again hear her coming back down the stairs to confirm that she should take the pink pill. "This pink pill has not been here before - only the blue one, the tiny yellow one, the medium yellow and the big red one. I never took this pink one before. Are you sure I should take it?" "Yes, mother, it is okay to take it."
It won't be long before I have to take over the pill box. She relishes in being able to fill it with precision - most weeks it's 100% perfect. I don't know if I dread the fact that I'll be taking over one more task or that she will have one more thing stripped from her basket of independence. We'll see how long this lasts, because I know it won't be long before the drug manufactgurers change her big red pill to Zebra stripes!
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