I'm Back!

I didn't realize how long it's been since I blogged last. So much has happened in the last year and a half, most of it not so great.

After much soul searching and number crunching, I decided to let our home go into foreclosure. We were so upside down in the mortgage, even a loan modification wasn't much help. I didn't discuss this with Dave, he's way too far along in his AD to comprehend. I did manage to find a condo in the same community to rent. It's actually better, $600 cheaper than my mortgage, it's bigger, and has a den with a fireplace (boy did I miss a fireplace). And did I mention a second bathroom?

September 2010, my friend Jan moved from Phoenix into our 2nd bedroom. She's been a great help, and it's awesome to have someone to talk to. She was blown away by the progression of Dave's AD in just the few months that she last saw him.

In November 2010 I received another blow. I was laid off from my job. 3 dedicated years, but it was based on a struggling business. Now we're living on Dave's SS and un-employment. This is NOT how I pictured my life to be at this point, but God has a plan, they tell me. Not sure what it is, but I'll run on faith for awhile.

In March of this year, I started working with the VA to place Dave in Adult Day Care. It was a fantastic process, with lots of jumping through hoops, mountains of paperwork, endless meetings with Social Workers, etc. Well, they accepted him based upon his level of Alzheimer's, and the toll it's taking on me being a 24/7 caregiver. They approved him for 5 days a week (at $115.00 per day), and the VA is picking up the entire tab. Guess the hoop jumping was worth it. Believe me when I tell you, this was a very difficult decision to make, and I didn't make it lightly. The bus picks him up at the door on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:45 and drops him back at the door at 2:15. We're starting him 3 days a week, and we'll see how that goes. He's doing okay with it, bless his heart. He's had a couple of "melt downs" there, but they are medically equiped to handle them. They monitor his blood pressure, he takes a message once a week, takes a parafin treatment on his hands every other week. Hey, how can I get in on this?

As you can tell, his AD has progressed quite a bit. His heart issues continue to mount as well. His heart still beats in a-fib, the aneurysm is stable (only grown a bit), and after a stress test last month, he has artery blockage. They're not sure how many arteries are blocked because I've declined the proposed angiogram. Since we, as a family, made the decision early on that there will be no surgeries, this test seems moot. He is on the Warfarin regime, as well as lots of other good meds, and we will just monitor him at this oint.

Lots has happened on the family front since I last blogged as well. After years and years of dealing with Steve and Debbie's bull shit, we've severed ties. It was a mutual decision, since Steve still blames me for every bad choice he makes in his life. It started when he burned their house to the ground while coming down from a 3day meth binge, and ended when he walked out of my house one morning after helping himself to $875 that I was keeping for Matt and Heather's house fund. THE END. We still see the grandkids occasionally, and that's their choice, thankfully. They're disgusted by Steve's beahvior as well, but they can't sever ties, unfortunately.

Matt and Heather are doing great. The just moved into their mountain top home 2 months ago, after living apart for several years. They're living in a guest house (2bedroom, 2 baths, 1200 sq ft) on a large piece of property way up on a hill in Camarillo. To get there, you climb for quite a ways, the road ends and you enter through a gate to a private road, and the property sits at the end of the private road behind a secured gate. The views are breath-taking, the house is brand new and gorgeous, and they are so happy. Chris & Dylan will start in September at Camarillo Heights elementary, and they are looking fofrward to it.

Well enough for now. Hope this finds you all well, loved and healthy!

~Di