Aging Backwards

 

Babies are beautiful. Aren't they? All parents and extended family feel the rush of love when a newborn comes into the family.

Babies depend upon us for food, clothing, and shelter. They are helpless and innocent and totally incapable of providing for themselves. As they grow, among the first of things they learn is how to eat. We hand them a cracker or place Cheerios on their tray. They are happy when their little fingers grow dexterous and they can pick up such food items. These small bites go into their mouths, and soon, even non-foods go to the mouth.

They learn to sit up, crawl, and then toddle as they walk.  With each new achievement, they grow a bit more independent.

Folks with Dementia or Alzheimer's age backwards. They lose independence a little at a time. When we compare their progress on a day-to-day basis, not much can be seen as a change, but when we looks back over six months, we sees a major transformation.

They reach a stage where they are babies again. They can't sit up, walk, or feed themselves, nor can they use the toilet. Like a newborn, they wear diapers, and someone changes the adult baby pants for them. They regress to the infant stage.

Like an infant, our daughter must be fed, and mobility is an issue.

She fell last Saturday, May 14, 2022. Her walk has become a slow shuffle. She stumbled and fell face down.

The facility called late the following Monday night. The EMS had been called, and our little one was being rushed to the ER. An  earlier X-ray showed a small nose fracture, and the doctor wanted a CT scan.

The X-ray should have been done sooner. It appears the nurse forgot to turn in the request to the doctor on the Saturday of the incident. When I didn't hear from her that evening, or the next day on Sunday, I assumed the X-ray showed no damage. It's difficult to get through by phone on the weekends, so I didn't call. I learned a valuable lesson. Don't trust the nurses or aides, get individual phone numbers for personnel in case no one answers the phone at the facility. Facilities aren't always on top of things, and even when I stay on them, they mess up.

We were in the hospital for three days. The medical teams, with my help, discovered she couldn't answer their questions. She doesn't know her birthdate, and she didn't know where she was. Most of the time, when asked her name, she responded with her first name.

Several medics commented on her skin and how young she looks.

She had a few wrinkles once, but they seemed to have disappeared.

She's aging backwards.

By-the-way, the beautiful baby pictured at the top of this blog is her new grandbaby. She doesn't know the new tiny goodness. 

They are both sweet babies.