Awakening

Dad had one of his what we refer to as “Awakening” moments on Sunday so we took full advantage of it and took dad everywhere to enjoy old dad.

When dad has his awakening moments he would be very alert and want to do everything, like making up for lost time. I think dad started coming out of his fog on Saturday afternoon. He began talking more and on Saturday evening he sat through the whole “Fearless” show we had put on for him. He loves kungfu movies. After that he even commented on the show.

On Saturday morning, he followed us to the mall to do some grocery shopping. I think he was impressed with the Christmas decorations at the mall too. Dad was tired so we found places for dad to sit and rest while we took turns to run around doing our errands.

We eventually decided to buy a belt for dad because I noticed that the one he was wearing was so old and long. Dad has lost a lot of weight so much so that his clothing no longer fits him. Brother in law has given him some hand me down trousers and we had all bought him lots of shirts but I think we forgot about the belt.

On Sunday morning we took him to the park with the kids. He even sat on the swing for a while. 

After that dad and I walked to the nearby coffee shop for breakfast while hubby stayed on at the park with the kids for a while. Dad had fish slices congee. We bought Yau Char Kuay to go with the Congee because the porridge stall did not have any. Dad really enjoyed it. Then we packed some breakfast home and bought the newspapers for dad to read.

We painted the gate today, something we had wanted to do for a while. Meanwhile, dad sat on the bench and read the papers from cover to cover. He was alert and talked about everything that he read from politics to crime. He even spoke about his 4 digit numbers which he used to buy often.

I had forgotten that it was Donzhi or Tang Yuen Festival or Winter Solstice Festival. 😛 Sister had made some and Dad called her to ask her to bring some over. He was really mad because she was late and asked her not to come over anymore. Sis was stalled because she had workers at her house doing renovations.

So we brought dad there to have some tang yuen. It was the kids first time trying. Last year I made some store bought ones but they didn’t like it. Anyway, we thought its a better idea to wait till they are older before getting them to make and consume them since it is a choking risk. In short, the kids didn’t like it, so I ate their portions. 1 bowl plus 2 more bowls makes 3 bowls in all!

We skipped lunch because we were full from the breakfast and the tang yuen so we ended up having tea at a Mamak shop. Dad loves lembu susu and tosai so he enjoyed those.

In the evening after dinner, dad was still very alert, so we took him out to get some last minute Christmas gifts as well as to buy some new shoes for the maid. The kids had accidentally stepped on her shoes and tore it!

This morning the fog returned. Dad left a trail of urine all the way from his bed to the bathroom. After that he didn’t know what to do, because he couldn’t sit down. I finally managed to persuade dad to change his clothes, have breakfast and take his medication but he is sleeping now, like a baby. He will usually sleep all day after his awakening moments.

Sometimes with the awakening moments comes imsomnia where he will not be able to sleep for more than 24 hours and after that he will sleep for 24 hours. Its strange how the brain works.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, dad kept on talking about his diapers. Should he wear it? If he wears it he become lazy and won’t make an effort to go to the toilet to pee, he said so himself. He’s worried about not wearing it because he is too full etc but he managed to go through the entire days without it even though he was worried. He even managed to ask for the toilet at the mamak shop and go there on his own accord. And on Sunday he was delighted when he managed to poo first thing in the morning.

Someone said that alzeimers is almost a blessing in disguise, that losing all one’s memory is perhaps better than awareness but what about this half awareness, this awareness that you are beggining to lose your memory. It must be very frightening indeed. Sigh.