Thursday, September 19, 2013

Alzheimer's and the car keys

More brain changes
Cross section of healthy and Azlheimer's brainThis entry will surely bore many of you but I am blogging all this to document the progress of the disease for both of us in hopes that someday I may put it all together to help someone else who is struggling as a patient or a caregiver.

  Wow, it has been an interesting.  Hubby got very agitated and upset last night.  Accused me of "shang-hai-ing" his car keys.  He is furious once again about it and questioning who said he can't drive, it doesn't say anything on his license that he can't drive and who told me that he couldn't.  He still isn't speaking this morning which is interesting that he remembers to be mad.  Telling him that three docs have said he shouldn't drive and that if anything happened while he was driving, regardless of whose fault it would be, the insurance wouldn't pay because of all the medications he is on for Alz.  He is blaming it all on me, of course. 

So I'm just trying to figure out what triggered all this.  To begin with, Taylor is staying with us and she drives what was essentially his van sometimes.  He has the idea that she is going to take it and use it for a down payment on a car....(not a bad idea in my book but she has never mentioned it...she is embarassed to drive it to school with all its dents, etc.).  He must believe as long as the van shows up in our driveway, he will still have access to it.
Secondly, the whole scene yesterday at JSC when I asked about driving him in and picking him up as he no longer drives, must have thrown a kink into his works about not being able to drive onto the JSC campus by himself.
Thirdly, we started a class at our church last night that meets on Wednesday nights.  He seemed to enjoy it but at the end of the class, I asked if he wanted to attend next week.  He said "yes" and as I will be unable to attend, I asked a friend in the class who lives in our neighborhood if he would mind picking him up.  George agreed, no problem.  But again, this being unable to do it himself remains a terrible loss to him.  I understand completely and will probably fight it when my keys are taken away.  Right now I'm just grateful that one of us can drive.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

My brother ( 20 years older than I) had dementia starting at around age 60 I think. He NEVER gave up asking for the keys to his truck, he was always wanting to leave his care facility to go mow my parents' yard. And, he would get very angry about it.

Babs said...

The anger is part of the disease as you well know and has nothing to do with you..........hard to realize and accept