Living with Alzheimer's (a husband/caretaker's observations)
My Sweetums
Not all symptoms of Alzheimer's are the same. I'm constantly updating this with more things I remember. I thought I'd put this together and share it, in case you know someone that could benefit from it.
It is 2022 as I'm writing this. I remember it was 2006 when I was on my way home from work and called Joyce on her cell phone to let her know I was on my way home. When she answered she said she was at our investment brokers and couldn't remember how to get home. I told her to stay there, I'd come rescue her, and she could follow me home.
Shortly after this time we had gotten together with my sister and her husband for dinner out and then back to our house to play cards. I think we were playing Euchre or Spades when all of a sudden Joyce's mind slipped, She looked puzzled or confused as she gazed at her cards. She asked what game we were playing? I didn't realize it then, but this was just one of the little things I didn't recognize as the beginning of Alzheimer's.
There were also a couple incidents where she had backed over our rural route mailbox as she backed out of the garage and down the driveway.
I started noticing that she wasn't remembering simple things around the house, like where light switches were to turn on and off lights, or where the phones were, and the difference between the coffee maker and the micro-wave oven. She would sometimes confuse a phone for the TV remote and vise-versa. Trying to turn on the TV with the phone and trying to answer the phone with the TV remote. She catches herself doing these things and we just laugh about it.
I suggested she ask her doctor about this on her next visit. After the visit to the doctors, she came home and reported "this is normal memory loss for a woman her age." This diagnosis after a fifteen-minute office visit. I'm with her the other twenty-three- and three-quarter hours of the day and I said this wasn't normal!
Whenever we went for a ride or to the movies or even the grocery store, Joyce would say she was seeing all the same people, doing all the same things, in the same spots whenever we went out. She also said she had seen every television show and movie we watched or gone out to see. I do remember the last movie she wanted to see and didn't say she had seen before was "AMERICAN SNIPPER" the Chris Kyle story in 2014. Her insistence of seeing everything before was referred to, by me as her DeJa'Vu syndrome.
I found out early that it isn't good to argue with the mind of an Alzheimer's victim. You need to just let it go, be understanding and try not to raise your voice. I have troubles not with maintaining a calm voice, but my eyes seem to telegraph a different message to her. When I get upset or irritated, it shows in my eyes and she sees that. Yes, she may ask me the same question over and over but it's just a question and all you need do is answer as politely as you can and be understanding. I can't emphasize that enough. She might think she sees the same person out walking a dog in the same place every day or something along those lines. I don't try to tell her we've never seen that person before, anymore. I smile and nod to confirm her sighting and let it go. I read a book back maybe around 2005 called don't sweat the small stuff. I think it taught me a lot about not getting excited about things in general.
Joyce has always been a little bundle of energy, and this is so even in the stages of Alzheimer's. Unlike others in her situation, she can hardly sit down and relax. She always has to be doing something. She will not just sit-down and watch TV, like I've seen and heard of so many others behaving. She always has a project to work on. A lot of times these projects never seem to end or have a positive outcome.
For example, if her white gym shoes got dirty, she would paint them white, with house paint or spray paint. Once the paint dried, she was happy with the results. When she put the shoes on, the paint would crack and look terrible again and she would start the process all over again. Finally, between her children and myself, we threw the old, painted gym shoes away and the topic of using paint to make her shoes look like new again, went away She became obsessed with the use of bleach. She was spilling her food and drinks wherever she walked around the house and decided to sit and eat or drink. The carpets were a mess. She would use the bleach on the carpet instead of regular carpet cleaner. This would create white spots on the carpet. She did the same thing with her clothes that had stains on them. As she would do laundry, she would use the bleach as a spot remover. She would then put all the clothes in the same load together thus bleaching some of my clothing. Slowly but surely, I have taken over the duties of the laundry, and she doesn't realize it. A co-worker told me , her mother went thru the same thing with the bleach. Once that phase ended, a new one began. Joyce would gather tissues, toilet paper and paper towels and sit for long periods of time, tearing or trying to cut them all into smaller, even sized sheets to use for her watery eyes and blowing of her nose. Then she would stick the stack of tiny tissues in the back of her drawer or under her couch and forget they were there. Not able to find them, she would demand we go out and buy more. She would also complain about how dull the scissors were and could we buy new ones or sharpen the old ones? My friend's wife told me her older sister is doing the same thing with the tissues. I can't imagine what is happening in these minds that have these women doing simular things?
We play cards at home in the evenings and if we have to wait in a waiting room for something like a car repair, or doctor’s visit. Keeping a deck of cards in the vehicles has been a life saver. We play Kings on the Corners. It’s a simple game. We both enjoy it. It passes the time together and keeps her in one spot, most of the times. We tried to change it up for a little variety and played Gin but that was too much for Joyce to comprehend.
Before we got married Joyce asked me when I expected her to have my dinner ready, when I came home from work? I explained I had unusual hours and knowing when I'd be home was never known. I'd take care of fixing my dinner and if she wanted to join me, there would always be enough to share. She went on to say that in her job, she often times did luncheons with customers, and the need to eat dinner wasn't necessary. So, the deal was struck, she'd clean the house, do laundry and take care of the bills and I would cook, and take care of indoor and outdoor home improvement projects.
Then there were the PAST DUE notices we were getting in the mail. It turns out she wasn't paying our bills. She said she liked doing this, before we were married so I just let her do it! Once I saw this happening, I had to step in and take over the bill payments. Joyce was very rebellious, about this act. Insisting she was in complete control. She had control of the checkbook. I asked her to write me a check for the electric bill. After a couple hours and a huge fight between us, she ended up handing over the checkbook and at that point I became responsible for writing all the checks and paying all the bills. She never asked about the checkbook again and never asked about if the bills were paid or the checkbook balanced.
Another time I walked upstairs to see what she had been doing the past couple of hours. She explained that she was getting her daily pills sorted and put in those weekly pill containers. Upon closer examination I saw she hadn't but had been dosing herself daily by color and shape of the pills. Again, another fight ensued (verbal bickering), and I had to take control of her daily doses of her meds.
Joyce is easily distracted and confused. she gets mad at me for trying to keep her focused Example, going into the kitchen for something and forgetting what she was there for but being side-tracked by getting more food and water for the cat. Or opening several cans of pop, forgetting she already has some maybe at her couch or where we play cards or a combination of the two where she will get a pop, set it down on a counter where she stops to feed the cat and forgets it’s there or doesn’t see it when she stands back up and then gets another pop and has multiple cans open around the house. Thank God it's not cigarettes! She'll ask me if she can get me anything from the kitchen. She is very thoughtful and energy enough to run the stairs to get me whatever I desire, but.... I have to know what our inventory of food and drink supplies are and exactly, where they are located so I can tell her exactly where to go and what to look for. Aside from having the short memory issues she also has a very narrow view of vision. Even if something is slightly to the left or right from where she is looking, she doesn’t see it. She also seems to have selective hearing, much like a youngster tunes out what the parent is saying and only hears what they want to hear.
I have noticed recently that her long-term memory is fading more. Lifelong friends are being forgotten. We've been married thirty-four years. This is the longest period of anything so far in her life and sometimes she doesn't know who I am, where we live or that we are even married. Lately, this seems to be happening more often.
It all came to a head when one Saturday morning, the phone rang. I could see by the caller ID that it was one of Joyce's best friends, so I ignored it and let Joyce answer the phone, upstairs. I was in the basement updating my website when all of a sudden Joyce snuck up behind me and said, "a woman on the phone wants to talk with you." I took the phone from her and her friend on the other end of the line said, "there's something wrong with Joyce." She doesn't know who I am or who you are or that the two of them were firming up plans to do lunch one day that upcoming week. After hanging up the phone I got up to find Joyce. It turns out she had laid down on a couch on the other side of the wall from where I had been on the phone with the friend. She had laid down and when I went to her and asked if she was alright? She sat right up and said she was fine and had no memory of the incident or that her friend had even called that morning.
That did it! This was proof enough for me that this was no normal memory loss for a woman her age. Monday morning, I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened. I got her doctor on the phone and told her what had happened that weekend. The doctor immediately prescribed an appointment with a neurologist. We went to the hospital that afternoon. Within fifteen-minutes of seeing this specialist, he diagnosed her of having Alzheimer's, mid-stages. The neurologist did some tests with Joyce to determine she was in mid-stages of Alzheimer's. He had her remember three words, RED, TREE, CAR and then talking with her and coming back and asking her what the three words were? She was only able to remember one of the three. Then he gave her a piece of paper with several circles on it and wanted her to place the hands like on an analog clock to show a specific time, like 2:20 or 11:45.
So the early stages that were happening almost undetected by me had started years before. The doctor told her in no uncertain terms that her brain was dying and there was no cure, it would only get worse until death.
Soon after this diagnosis, Another of Joyce's friends, who had a husband with Alzheimer's suggested we go to a seminar, being given by an expert in the field, at a local community center. We attended the seminar. He told us that victims would forget how to walk, sit-down, dress and feed themselves and even go to the bathroom by themselves and would need professional care. At the very end of the talk, I went up to ask the expert about symptoms Joyce had been going through. Joyce was right there with me as I asked him about the different things she was doing and experiencing. He told me; he had never heard of such behavior! This left me with the feeling that I was on my own! The expert said the average life expectancy of an Alzheimer’s victim was 10 years and would see the victim in steady decline. Joyce has had this for 16 years and can still sort of take care of herself.
Shortly after the diagnosis of her Alzheimer's, she had another Doctor's visit and we talked about the Alzheimer's disease. I completely broke down and admitted that even though I am big and strong, I would defend and protect her from all outside dangers and threats but this.... this was something I could not fight... something inside her brain, and I had a very hard time dealing with this at first.
Joyce began straightening up drawers around the house. This caused me some distress and loss of temper at times when she would re-arrange the drawers and utensils I use in the kitchen. I do the cooking. When I would open a drawer to get something and that something wasn't there, it was no use to ask her (but I did anyway) because she didn't remember doing the re-arranging in the first place. I've learned since then. Now, when I hear her in the kitchen, ask her if she is messing in my drawers? If she is, I ask her to come down and not move my stuff around. It at least cuts down the amount of stuff she moves around on me.
Joyce has her own end table, complete with a drawer, where she keeps all the stuff, she thinks she has to have at her fingertips.
Now I have discovered there are at least two different Joyce personalities inside her brain. She gets up on her own every morning and turns on the coffee maker and opens a box of mini cinnamon rolls to have for her breakfast, while watching news and weather on the TV and "straightening " her end table drawer. She will spend hours doing this, until everything is just right. Then perhaps in the evening, she'll need something out of that drawer, only to open it up and declare, someone has been in it and has messed it all up! Now she will spend hours straightening it up the way "Nighttime Joyce" wants it to be and the whole process starts all over the next morning, when "Daytime Joyce" takes over again. I will say, Daytime Joyce is more of her normal self than Nighttime Joyce. Nighttime Joyce is afraid of the dark and forgets who I am or who's house we are in or even that we're married!
At this time in life Joyce was still driving. She was retired and only going out to visit friends to do lunch together. The day she backed over a condo complex mailbox cluster and didn't even know it, I had to step in and try to get her to give up her car. I knew this would be another fight. She had a doctor's appointment the next day. I ended up talking to the doctor before the appointment and explaining to her the fights we already had about stuff she was in control of, and this was going to be harder. If I could get the doctor to prescribe to her the surrendering of her car keys to me, I would take her everywhere she needed to go. The plan worked. Reluctantly, Joyce gave up her keys to the car.
As time goes on, I'm noticing that her speech is becoming a little slurred and she has a harder time formulating sentence's. She forgets what word to use to complete a thought. Some days she can hardly print a note to herself and other days she is fine writing in cursively. Some of this maybe due to the time of day and her different personalities. I'm not sure yet.
There have been times when Joyce says her heart is racing or her pulse is fast. I have taken her pulse, only to find it pretty normal. Other times we have put on her blood pressure cuff and found it to be pretty normal. We have even gone as far as transmitting data from her pacemaker to her doctor, only to have them not see anything to get alarmed about.
Sometimes it seems like Joyce is having a stroke. I can't ask her questions like who is the president or what year is it, because she doesn't remember those kinds of things at this stage of the disease anyway. I ask her to smile, stick out her tongue or raise her arms. To the best of my knowledge she hasn't had a stroke.
She suffers from what is called Sundowners syndrome. In the evening, just before sunset, she wants all doors locked, shades, drapes and curtains pulled shut and then says she is scared to death. I asked her on many occasions why she was scared? Most times she doesn't know. A few times she has said it was because she was thinking about her age and her brain dying and she doesn't want to leave me. Another time she said her parents used to tell her that if she didn't come in the house, as a child, the "BOOGIMAN" would get her. That seems to be the main reason behind the locking up and closing down of all the doors and windows in the evening, so I blame her parents for this bad memory.
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Several years ago, she passed out while shopping with her youngest grandson and was taken to the hospital with a below normal heart rate. A pacemaker was suggested and installed. She was put on a very expensive blood thinner. Almost immediately, she lost her sense of taste and smell, and it hasn't recovered yet. Not able to taste the food, she has sort of lost interest in eating much at all and is losing weight. She has gone from one fifteen to eighty-two pounds. When she did eat it was usually McDonalds and fries. As we know the fries are always very salty. Joyce would have PANIC ATTACKS at different times of the day or night. I began associating the attacks with McDonalds but then it happened after a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and another time after Christmas dinner with ham. It started to become clearer that it wasn't McDonalds, it was salt/sodium. Now, watching the salt intake, she hasn't had any PANIC ATTACKS. This is a good thing. The salt is either messing with her meds or maybe the brain. I don't know which one.
Occasionally, Joyce would like to have some wine or maybe a Margaretta or both during the course of a day. This was messing with all the meds she takes but most of all the blood thinner. The doctor said she could have one small glass of wine, the size of one of the little individual wine bottles you see in the store. Even with Alzheimer's she seems to remember that she is entitled to have one glass of wine, a night, and she always reminds me of that. I don't know how she only seems to remember that.
I count myself or us as lucky because she still can get herself out of bed and dressed. She comes down and turns on the coffee maker to brew a single cup of coffee and gets her cinnamons rolls to have for her breakfast and then sits in front of the TV and watches NEWs & Weather while messing with, and straightening her drawer, in the end table, next to the couch. She is also able to go to the bathroom on her own when she needs to. She hasn’t taken a shower or bath for several years but does do something like a sponge bath to herself. I take care of washing her hair in the kitchen sink but that is usually met with a lot of push back or maybe she says not right now, maybe later…
Over the years her doctors have prescribed new drugs and taken her off some of the older drugs. We have made the adjustments and continue on. A couple of the drugs she is prescribed are to be used as needed. One is Bentil for IBS, and the other is Lomotil for diarrhea. Joyce was having the occasional incontinence issues and I began a regiment of Lomotil doses every night as part of her nightly meds. This seems to be working for the past eight months and I told her doctor of this, and they made notes in her medical history of medications. The practice still continues with the same success today.
Routine seems to be very important in the day in the life of an Alzheimer's victim. I haven't retired yet, but I am lucky that I am doing the kind of work that is flexible. I go in at 3:00AM, work for work for six hours and come home, usually by 10:00 AM. Joyce normally gets up around 9:00 and does her morning routine and within an hour or so, I'm pulling into the garage and I'm home. This works partly because I'm dealing with Daytime Joyce, who is more independent and not scared to be alone in the house. She does have her cat to keep her company and the cat is very attentive to her when I'm not there.
There are times when she forgets who I am or my name. She may not remember what state we live in or near what city, but other times she will rattle off our mailing address and phone number, along with her full (married) name. Sometimes she forgets she has children of her own and grandchildren and forgets their names but when caller ID shows their name on the TV, she snaps into an almost rehearsed script and begins her regular greeting to them.
Joyce has always been a "Social Butterfly" and still is today. She will chat with the best of them until the conversation becomes too confusing to her and she will simply walk away. Minutes after talking with these people she will forget even knowing them much less remembering what they were talking about. She loves and admires babies and younger children that like to play but moments after the game is finished or maybe they have to go, she forgets who they were.
Joyce also loves animals of all kinds. We have tons of neighbors that are out walking dogs. She will ask if the dogs are friendly and if they mind if she petted them? Some of our neighborhood cats will approach her and let her love on them as well. Petting Zoos, 4- H displays where she can talk with the animals and pet them give her a calmness. We visit the horses at a local stable and take carrots for them to enjoy as treats. Even visiting Farm supply retailers that have baby chicks, ducklings and turkeys are a hit with her to pet and talk to. Once, at Landen Deerfield Park, a local Naturalist brought a rather large Black Snake for display. She allowed Joyce to hold it. I was nervous she would drop the snake and it would slither off into the woods. That didn't happen and Joyce held it and got others to hold it and pet it while in her care, before giving it back to the Naturalist for safe keeping.
Joyce loves to get out and just drive around. Lately, the minute we turn off our street, she doesn't seem to know where we are, even though we have lived here for thirty-two years. We go up to the lake nearly every day. She doesn't know it's Landen Lake. And because the wind creates what looks like current, to her, she thinks it's a river. Her biggest concern seems to be what school district the kids in the different Landen neighborhoods are in. She doesn't talk so much about seeing the same people in the same places all the time. Maybe that phase is slipping away. Something else that seems to be changing is that when the sun goes down, she isn't scared like she used to be but still makes sure the cat is in, the doors locked, windows closed, and shades pulled shut. There has been several nights this week she simply closed the shades and resumed card playing with no mention of being scared or even sad. This is happening more and more, that she doesn't say she's scared. To me, this is a good thing.
Just in these last couple weeks of April, she seems to be losing more of her ability to read correctly. One example was when we were driving around and passing the Regal Cinema and she was sounding out the words on the sign and asked what a Regal Seminar was ? I told it was pronounced Cinema...she said, oh yeah, that's right and laughed off her gaff. This past week I woke up one night to go to the bathroom. After getting back in bed and laying there a few minutes, she asked me if I was still awake. I replied I was. She said she couldn't remember her name. I told her it was Joyce. She said, Oh, okay, and went back to sleep. Now I don't know if she was actually awake or if she was dreaming. We'll never know now. I have also noticed when we drive down a certain street in Landen, who's houses are on the lake, she always remarks how big the houses are and wonders how much they would sell for. (there are only six or seven houses on that side of the street) When we get to the end of the street and turn around, it's like she has no idea we just passed these same houses and she comments again on their size and asks, how much they'd sell for today?
I tell her I love her, several times a day and right before going to bed. I think this is important to re-assure her. Letting her know, we are a team and that we're doing the best we can and that I'm here for her and she for me. This brings a smile to her face, and she thanks me for staying with her.
There are times when Joyce will be sad and cries because she knows what is happening to her and what the final outcome will be. She will say that she knows she's driving me crazy. She goes on to say she doesn't want to ruin my life and I should put her in a home. I don't even want to think about this, but it might be a reality (I'm just not ready to face it yet). I try to assure her that we are doing the best we can together, making the best of each day and enjoying each other and staying together as long as we can. I can't imagine leaving her alone in a room at some facility, facing the fears she has each evening, all by herself. She would be with strangers, and I wouldn't be there to hold her and assure her that I'm there and will protect her, always. I hate this thought. It's unimaginable to me!
This is a work in progress as life goes on. I hope this might help others, cope and understand, what a loved one, they know is suffering with this disease.
Lived and written by J.Scott Keniston
It is 2022 as I'm writing this. I remember it was 2006 when I was on my way home from work and called Joyce on her cell phone to let her know I was on my way home. When she answered she said she was at our investment brokers and couldn't remember how to get home. I told her to stay there, I'd come rescue her, and she could follow me home.
Shortly after this time we had gotten together with my sister and her husband for dinner out and then back to our house to play cards. I think we were playing Euchre or Spades when all of a sudden Joyce's mind slipped, She looked puzzled or confused as she gazed at her cards. She asked what game we were playing? I didn't realize it then, but this was just one of the little things I didn't recognize as the beginning of Alzheimer's.
There were also a couple incidents where she had backed over our rural route mailbox as she backed out of the garage and down the driveway.
I started noticing that she wasn't remembering simple things around the house, like where light switches were to turn on and off lights, or where the phones were, and the difference between the coffee maker and the micro-wave oven. She would sometimes confuse a phone for the TV remote and vise-versa. Trying to turn on the TV with the phone and trying to answer the phone with the TV remote. She catches herself doing these things and we just laugh about it.
I suggested she ask her doctor about this on her next visit. After the visit to the doctors, she came home and reported "this is normal memory loss for a woman her age." This diagnosis after a fifteen-minute office visit. I'm with her the other twenty-three- and three-quarter hours of the day and I said this wasn't normal!
Whenever we went for a ride or to the movies or even the grocery store, Joyce would say she was seeing all the same people, doing all the same things, in the same spots whenever we went out. She also said she had seen every television show and movie we watched or gone out to see. I do remember the last movie she wanted to see and didn't say she had seen before was "AMERICAN SNIPPER" the Chris Kyle story in 2014. Her insistence of seeing everything before was referred to, by me as her DeJa'Vu syndrome.
I found out early that it isn't good to argue with the mind of an Alzheimer's victim. You need to just let it go, be understanding and try not to raise your voice. I have troubles not with maintaining a calm voice, but my eyes seem to telegraph a different message to her. When I get upset or irritated, it shows in my eyes and she sees that. Yes, she may ask me the same question over and over but it's just a question and all you need do is answer as politely as you can and be understanding. I can't emphasize that enough. She might think she sees the same person out walking a dog in the same place every day or something along those lines. I don't try to tell her we've never seen that person before, anymore. I smile and nod to confirm her sighting and let it go. I read a book back maybe around 2005 called don't sweat the small stuff. I think it taught me a lot about not getting excited about things in general.
Joyce has always been a little bundle of energy, and this is so even in the stages of Alzheimer's. Unlike others in her situation, she can hardly sit down and relax. She always has to be doing something. She will not just sit-down and watch TV, like I've seen and heard of so many others behaving. She always has a project to work on. A lot of times these projects never seem to end or have a positive outcome.
For example, if her white gym shoes got dirty, she would paint them white, with house paint or spray paint. Once the paint dried, she was happy with the results. When she put the shoes on, the paint would crack and look terrible again and she would start the process all over again. Finally, between her children and myself, we threw the old, painted gym shoes away and the topic of using paint to make her shoes look like new again, went away She became obsessed with the use of bleach. She was spilling her food and drinks wherever she walked around the house and decided to sit and eat or drink. The carpets were a mess. She would use the bleach on the carpet instead of regular carpet cleaner. This would create white spots on the carpet. She did the same thing with her clothes that had stains on them. As she would do laundry, she would use the bleach as a spot remover. She would then put all the clothes in the same load together thus bleaching some of my clothing. Slowly but surely, I have taken over the duties of the laundry, and she doesn't realize it. A co-worker told me , her mother went thru the same thing with the bleach. Once that phase ended, a new one began. Joyce would gather tissues, toilet paper and paper towels and sit for long periods of time, tearing or trying to cut them all into smaller, even sized sheets to use for her watery eyes and blowing of her nose. Then she would stick the stack of tiny tissues in the back of her drawer or under her couch and forget they were there. Not able to find them, she would demand we go out and buy more. She would also complain about how dull the scissors were and could we buy new ones or sharpen the old ones? My friend's wife told me her older sister is doing the same thing with the tissues. I can't imagine what is happening in these minds that have these women doing simular things?
We play cards at home in the evenings and if we have to wait in a waiting room for something like a car repair, or doctor’s visit. Keeping a deck of cards in the vehicles has been a life saver. We play Kings on the Corners. It’s a simple game. We both enjoy it. It passes the time together and keeps her in one spot, most of the times. We tried to change it up for a little variety and played Gin but that was too much for Joyce to comprehend.
Before we got married Joyce asked me when I expected her to have my dinner ready, when I came home from work? I explained I had unusual hours and knowing when I'd be home was never known. I'd take care of fixing my dinner and if she wanted to join me, there would always be enough to share. She went on to say that in her job, she often times did luncheons with customers, and the need to eat dinner wasn't necessary. So, the deal was struck, she'd clean the house, do laundry and take care of the bills and I would cook, and take care of indoor and outdoor home improvement projects.
Then there were the PAST DUE notices we were getting in the mail. It turns out she wasn't paying our bills. She said she liked doing this, before we were married so I just let her do it! Once I saw this happening, I had to step in and take over the bill payments. Joyce was very rebellious, about this act. Insisting she was in complete control. She had control of the checkbook. I asked her to write me a check for the electric bill. After a couple hours and a huge fight between us, she ended up handing over the checkbook and at that point I became responsible for writing all the checks and paying all the bills. She never asked about the checkbook again and never asked about if the bills were paid or the checkbook balanced.
Another time I walked upstairs to see what she had been doing the past couple of hours. She explained that she was getting her daily pills sorted and put in those weekly pill containers. Upon closer examination I saw she hadn't but had been dosing herself daily by color and shape of the pills. Again, another fight ensued (verbal bickering), and I had to take control of her daily doses of her meds.
Joyce is easily distracted and confused. she gets mad at me for trying to keep her focused Example, going into the kitchen for something and forgetting what she was there for but being side-tracked by getting more food and water for the cat. Or opening several cans of pop, forgetting she already has some maybe at her couch or where we play cards or a combination of the two where she will get a pop, set it down on a counter where she stops to feed the cat and forgets it’s there or doesn’t see it when she stands back up and then gets another pop and has multiple cans open around the house. Thank God it's not cigarettes! She'll ask me if she can get me anything from the kitchen. She is very thoughtful and energy enough to run the stairs to get me whatever I desire, but.... I have to know what our inventory of food and drink supplies are and exactly, where they are located so I can tell her exactly where to go and what to look for. Aside from having the short memory issues she also has a very narrow view of vision. Even if something is slightly to the left or right from where she is looking, she doesn’t see it. She also seems to have selective hearing, much like a youngster tunes out what the parent is saying and only hears what they want to hear.
I have noticed recently that her long-term memory is fading more. Lifelong friends are being forgotten. We've been married thirty-four years. This is the longest period of anything so far in her life and sometimes she doesn't know who I am, where we live or that we are even married. Lately, this seems to be happening more often.
It all came to a head when one Saturday morning, the phone rang. I could see by the caller ID that it was one of Joyce's best friends, so I ignored it and let Joyce answer the phone, upstairs. I was in the basement updating my website when all of a sudden Joyce snuck up behind me and said, "a woman on the phone wants to talk with you." I took the phone from her and her friend on the other end of the line said, "there's something wrong with Joyce." She doesn't know who I am or who you are or that the two of them were firming up plans to do lunch one day that upcoming week. After hanging up the phone I got up to find Joyce. It turns out she had laid down on a couch on the other side of the wall from where I had been on the phone with the friend. She had laid down and when I went to her and asked if she was alright? She sat right up and said she was fine and had no memory of the incident or that her friend had even called that morning.
That did it! This was proof enough for me that this was no normal memory loss for a woman her age. Monday morning, I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened. I got her doctor on the phone and told her what had happened that weekend. The doctor immediately prescribed an appointment with a neurologist. We went to the hospital that afternoon. Within fifteen-minutes of seeing this specialist, he diagnosed her of having Alzheimer's, mid-stages. The neurologist did some tests with Joyce to determine she was in mid-stages of Alzheimer's. He had her remember three words, RED, TREE, CAR and then talking with her and coming back and asking her what the three words were? She was only able to remember one of the three. Then he gave her a piece of paper with several circles on it and wanted her to place the hands like on an analog clock to show a specific time, like 2:20 or 11:45.
So the early stages that were happening almost undetected by me had started years before. The doctor told her in no uncertain terms that her brain was dying and there was no cure, it would only get worse until death.
Soon after this diagnosis, Another of Joyce's friends, who had a husband with Alzheimer's suggested we go to a seminar, being given by an expert in the field, at a local community center. We attended the seminar. He told us that victims would forget how to walk, sit-down, dress and feed themselves and even go to the bathroom by themselves and would need professional care. At the very end of the talk, I went up to ask the expert about symptoms Joyce had been going through. Joyce was right there with me as I asked him about the different things she was doing and experiencing. He told me; he had never heard of such behavior! This left me with the feeling that I was on my own! The expert said the average life expectancy of an Alzheimer’s victim was 10 years and would see the victim in steady decline. Joyce has had this for 16 years and can still sort of take care of herself.
Shortly after the diagnosis of her Alzheimer's, she had another Doctor's visit and we talked about the Alzheimer's disease. I completely broke down and admitted that even though I am big and strong, I would defend and protect her from all outside dangers and threats but this.... this was something I could not fight... something inside her brain, and I had a very hard time dealing with this at first.
Joyce began straightening up drawers around the house. This caused me some distress and loss of temper at times when she would re-arrange the drawers and utensils I use in the kitchen. I do the cooking. When I would open a drawer to get something and that something wasn't there, it was no use to ask her (but I did anyway) because she didn't remember doing the re-arranging in the first place. I've learned since then. Now, when I hear her in the kitchen, ask her if she is messing in my drawers? If she is, I ask her to come down and not move my stuff around. It at least cuts down the amount of stuff she moves around on me.
Joyce has her own end table, complete with a drawer, where she keeps all the stuff, she thinks she has to have at her fingertips.
Now I have discovered there are at least two different Joyce personalities inside her brain. She gets up on her own every morning and turns on the coffee maker and opens a box of mini cinnamon rolls to have for her breakfast, while watching news and weather on the TV and "straightening " her end table drawer. She will spend hours doing this, until everything is just right. Then perhaps in the evening, she'll need something out of that drawer, only to open it up and declare, someone has been in it and has messed it all up! Now she will spend hours straightening it up the way "Nighttime Joyce" wants it to be and the whole process starts all over the next morning, when "Daytime Joyce" takes over again. I will say, Daytime Joyce is more of her normal self than Nighttime Joyce. Nighttime Joyce is afraid of the dark and forgets who I am or who's house we are in or even that we're married!
At this time in life Joyce was still driving. She was retired and only going out to visit friends to do lunch together. The day she backed over a condo complex mailbox cluster and didn't even know it, I had to step in and try to get her to give up her car. I knew this would be another fight. She had a doctor's appointment the next day. I ended up talking to the doctor before the appointment and explaining to her the fights we already had about stuff she was in control of, and this was going to be harder. If I could get the doctor to prescribe to her the surrendering of her car keys to me, I would take her everywhere she needed to go. The plan worked. Reluctantly, Joyce gave up her keys to the car.
As time goes on, I'm noticing that her speech is becoming a little slurred and she has a harder time formulating sentence's. She forgets what word to use to complete a thought. Some days she can hardly print a note to herself and other days she is fine writing in cursively. Some of this maybe due to the time of day and her different personalities. I'm not sure yet.
There have been times when Joyce says her heart is racing or her pulse is fast. I have taken her pulse, only to find it pretty normal. Other times we have put on her blood pressure cuff and found it to be pretty normal. We have even gone as far as transmitting data from her pacemaker to her doctor, only to have them not see anything to get alarmed about.
Sometimes it seems like Joyce is having a stroke. I can't ask her questions like who is the president or what year is it, because she doesn't remember those kinds of things at this stage of the disease anyway. I ask her to smile, stick out her tongue or raise her arms. To the best of my knowledge she hasn't had a stroke.
She suffers from what is called Sundowners syndrome. In the evening, just before sunset, she wants all doors locked, shades, drapes and curtains pulled shut and then says she is scared to death. I asked her on many occasions why she was scared? Most times she doesn't know. A few times she has said it was because she was thinking about her age and her brain dying and she doesn't want to leave me. Another time she said her parents used to tell her that if she didn't come in the house, as a child, the "BOOGIMAN" would get her. That seems to be the main reason behind the locking up and closing down of all the doors and windows in the evening, so I blame her parents for this bad memory.
.
Several years ago, she passed out while shopping with her youngest grandson and was taken to the hospital with a below normal heart rate. A pacemaker was suggested and installed. She was put on a very expensive blood thinner. Almost immediately, she lost her sense of taste and smell, and it hasn't recovered yet. Not able to taste the food, she has sort of lost interest in eating much at all and is losing weight. She has gone from one fifteen to eighty-two pounds. When she did eat it was usually McDonalds and fries. As we know the fries are always very salty. Joyce would have PANIC ATTACKS at different times of the day or night. I began associating the attacks with McDonalds but then it happened after a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and another time after Christmas dinner with ham. It started to become clearer that it wasn't McDonalds, it was salt/sodium. Now, watching the salt intake, she hasn't had any PANIC ATTACKS. This is a good thing. The salt is either messing with her meds or maybe the brain. I don't know which one.
Occasionally, Joyce would like to have some wine or maybe a Margaretta or both during the course of a day. This was messing with all the meds she takes but most of all the blood thinner. The doctor said she could have one small glass of wine, the size of one of the little individual wine bottles you see in the store. Even with Alzheimer's she seems to remember that she is entitled to have one glass of wine, a night, and she always reminds me of that. I don't know how she only seems to remember that.
I count myself or us as lucky because she still can get herself out of bed and dressed. She comes down and turns on the coffee maker to brew a single cup of coffee and gets her cinnamons rolls to have for her breakfast and then sits in front of the TV and watches NEWs & Weather while messing with, and straightening her drawer, in the end table, next to the couch. She is also able to go to the bathroom on her own when she needs to. She hasn’t taken a shower or bath for several years but does do something like a sponge bath to herself. I take care of washing her hair in the kitchen sink but that is usually met with a lot of push back or maybe she says not right now, maybe later…
Over the years her doctors have prescribed new drugs and taken her off some of the older drugs. We have made the adjustments and continue on. A couple of the drugs she is prescribed are to be used as needed. One is Bentil for IBS, and the other is Lomotil for diarrhea. Joyce was having the occasional incontinence issues and I began a regiment of Lomotil doses every night as part of her nightly meds. This seems to be working for the past eight months and I told her doctor of this, and they made notes in her medical history of medications. The practice still continues with the same success today.
Routine seems to be very important in the day in the life of an Alzheimer's victim. I haven't retired yet, but I am lucky that I am doing the kind of work that is flexible. I go in at 3:00AM, work for work for six hours and come home, usually by 10:00 AM. Joyce normally gets up around 9:00 and does her morning routine and within an hour or so, I'm pulling into the garage and I'm home. This works partly because I'm dealing with Daytime Joyce, who is more independent and not scared to be alone in the house. She does have her cat to keep her company and the cat is very attentive to her when I'm not there.
There are times when she forgets who I am or my name. She may not remember what state we live in or near what city, but other times she will rattle off our mailing address and phone number, along with her full (married) name. Sometimes she forgets she has children of her own and grandchildren and forgets their names but when caller ID shows their name on the TV, she snaps into an almost rehearsed script and begins her regular greeting to them.
Joyce has always been a "Social Butterfly" and still is today. She will chat with the best of them until the conversation becomes too confusing to her and she will simply walk away. Minutes after talking with these people she will forget even knowing them much less remembering what they were talking about. She loves and admires babies and younger children that like to play but moments after the game is finished or maybe they have to go, she forgets who they were.
Joyce also loves animals of all kinds. We have tons of neighbors that are out walking dogs. She will ask if the dogs are friendly and if they mind if she petted them? Some of our neighborhood cats will approach her and let her love on them as well. Petting Zoos, 4- H displays where she can talk with the animals and pet them give her a calmness. We visit the horses at a local stable and take carrots for them to enjoy as treats. Even visiting Farm supply retailers that have baby chicks, ducklings and turkeys are a hit with her to pet and talk to. Once, at Landen Deerfield Park, a local Naturalist brought a rather large Black Snake for display. She allowed Joyce to hold it. I was nervous she would drop the snake and it would slither off into the woods. That didn't happen and Joyce held it and got others to hold it and pet it while in her care, before giving it back to the Naturalist for safe keeping.
Joyce loves to get out and just drive around. Lately, the minute we turn off our street, she doesn't seem to know where we are, even though we have lived here for thirty-two years. We go up to the lake nearly every day. She doesn't know it's Landen Lake. And because the wind creates what looks like current, to her, she thinks it's a river. Her biggest concern seems to be what school district the kids in the different Landen neighborhoods are in. She doesn't talk so much about seeing the same people in the same places all the time. Maybe that phase is slipping away. Something else that seems to be changing is that when the sun goes down, she isn't scared like she used to be but still makes sure the cat is in, the doors locked, windows closed, and shades pulled shut. There has been several nights this week she simply closed the shades and resumed card playing with no mention of being scared or even sad. This is happening more and more, that she doesn't say she's scared. To me, this is a good thing.
Just in these last couple weeks of April, she seems to be losing more of her ability to read correctly. One example was when we were driving around and passing the Regal Cinema and she was sounding out the words on the sign and asked what a Regal Seminar was ? I told it was pronounced Cinema...she said, oh yeah, that's right and laughed off her gaff. This past week I woke up one night to go to the bathroom. After getting back in bed and laying there a few minutes, she asked me if I was still awake. I replied I was. She said she couldn't remember her name. I told her it was Joyce. She said, Oh, okay, and went back to sleep. Now I don't know if she was actually awake or if she was dreaming. We'll never know now. I have also noticed when we drive down a certain street in Landen, who's houses are on the lake, she always remarks how big the houses are and wonders how much they would sell for. (there are only six or seven houses on that side of the street) When we get to the end of the street and turn around, it's like she has no idea we just passed these same houses and she comments again on their size and asks, how much they'd sell for today?
I tell her I love her, several times a day and right before going to bed. I think this is important to re-assure her. Letting her know, we are a team and that we're doing the best we can and that I'm here for her and she for me. This brings a smile to her face, and she thanks me for staying with her.
There are times when Joyce will be sad and cries because she knows what is happening to her and what the final outcome will be. She will say that she knows she's driving me crazy. She goes on to say she doesn't want to ruin my life and I should put her in a home. I don't even want to think about this, but it might be a reality (I'm just not ready to face it yet). I try to assure her that we are doing the best we can together, making the best of each day and enjoying each other and staying together as long as we can. I can't imagine leaving her alone in a room at some facility, facing the fears she has each evening, all by herself. She would be with strangers, and I wouldn't be there to hold her and assure her that I'm there and will protect her, always. I hate this thought. It's unimaginable to me!
This is a work in progress as life goes on. I hope this might help others, cope and understand, what a loved one, they know is suffering with this disease.
Lived and written by J.Scott Keniston
I use to submit stories for my column in Landen Living Magazine
In response to last months’ article, Saliva: A Remarkable Fluid, it did not mention the blood clotting and healing aspects saliva has on minor wounds. There have been reports on studies done with animals…but nothing so far with humans. (maybe the thought was too gross for some) I have conducted my own study and have found these traits to also be true on humans, whether temporary for cleansing a minor wound and clotting the blood until “proper sterilization and bandaging can be done… or not, and just letting a scab form after the saliva treatment and allowing it to heal naturally. That’s my two cents worth.
Old World Cure for Arthritis
In an earlier edition of Landen Living I told a story of this Old World Cure for Arthritis. Our neighbor had been a paratrooper in the war and had suffered a hip injury as a result of one of his jumps. As the years went on the pain became unbarable. He was in pain when he stood, sat down and even lay down. He was in the process of getting opinions from different doctors as to what the problem was and how it should be treated. After seeing the third doctor and hearing for the third time that he was going to need hip replacement, his wife was driving him home. They listened to talk radio as they drove. The radio personality said that after the break, he'd be back to tell about an old world cure for arthritis. The break ended and the announcer told of an old recipe of golden raisins and gin to relieve arthritis pain in joints. Our neighbor decided to give this a try. Knowing he had gin at home, they drove to the grocery store to buy a box of golden raisins and try the recipe. He called his doctor when they returned home and asked if he had ever heard of this arthritis cure or pain killer ? The doctor dismissed it as being ,"an old wives tale". After following the recipe and waiting for the raisins to do thier thing, he began taking them. In about two weeks or so, his pain was gone. He went to the doctors' office and danced across the floor. The doctor was stunned and asked who had done the surgery ? No surgery, he replied, golden raisins and gin...the old wives tale. Knowing this was not a permenant cure and that someday he would have to have the hip replaced, our neighbor put the surgery off for a later date. This was about 15 years ago and he hasn't had the surgery yet.
You take a bowl or plastic container (without a lid) and pour half of a large box of raisins in the container.
Then you pour enough 90 proof gin (I use Paramont Gin) to just barely cover the raisins
The you let them sit, uncovered for two weeks, allowing the alcohol to evaporate and the juice of the juniper berries to be absorbed into the raisins.
After the two weeks of sitting, you may begin taking a teaspoon of raisins a day (this might be 10 or more raisins on your spoon.
Usually, after about two weeks of taking the raisins daily, the pain should disappear.
Our neighbor told us about this and I decided to try it myself. I have terrible arthritis pain in my ankles from an over active childhood. Just as told, within the two week time period, my pain was gone.
You take a bowl or plastic container (without a lid) and pour half of a large box of raisins in the container.
Then you pour enough 90 proof gin (I use Paramont Gin) to just barely cover the raisins
The you let them sit, uncovered for two weeks, allowing the alcohol to evaporate and the juice of the juniper berries to be absorbed into the raisins.
After the two weeks of sitting, you may begin taking a teaspoon of raisins a day (this might be 10 or more raisins on your spoon.
Usually, after about two weeks of taking the raisins daily, the pain should disappear.
Our neighbor told us about this and I decided to try it myself. I have terrible arthritis pain in my ankles from an over active childhood. Just as told, within the two week time period, my pain was gone.
Restless Leg Syndrome ??
A few months ago I wrote about the RLS. I have conducted my own studies on the subject. I'm not the type of person to run to the doctor or take a pill whenever I feel something is wrong. I will try to diagnose the problem and figure out what I've been doing differently than before. In the case of RLS, I have discovered that it bothers me and family members when sitting in reclining chairs or laying on couches with my legs over the arm of the couch. The foot-rest of the recliner or arm of the couch are applying preasure to the achilles tendon thus causing the nerves to react, making you feel restless or twitchy. Doctors are prescribing drugs for this symptom but all I do is standup, perhaps lay on the floor, walk around etc. If you're sitting around alot, watching TV or reading a book, with your feet up, this could be what's causing your RLS. Try doing what helps me and see if it works for you.
The next chair I buy will be a regular arm chair with an ottoman, instead of a recliner. The ottoman can be adjusted to my height and length, where as the recliner isn't !
The next chair I buy will be a regular arm chair with an ottoman, instead of a recliner. The ottoman can be adjusted to my height and length, where as the recliner isn't !
A Poultice ?
I am alergic to bee stings...to the point where they would kill me if not treated in time. I swell up and maybe the airways are constricted and I would die. With that said, I'll tell you a little story.
It was back in the 1980's and I had driven out to Indiana and decided to stop in and see if some friends of mine were home ? They had built a house and barn on top of a huge hill near Saint Leon, Indiana. Once I got to the top of the hill I discovered my friends weren't home but he had pulled his 1969 Dodge Charger with a 426cu.in engine out of the barn. I just had to pop the hood... I wanted to see that Elephant Motor one more time.
As I reached under the hood to pop the latch, I was stung by a mud-dauber wasp. I didn't have any Hydrosol with me. The doctor said if I could apply Hydrosol within 30 minutes of being stung, I'd be okay. Franticly I drove to Harrison, Ohio and pulled in to an Urgent Care type of facility. I walked in and told the girl at the desk what had happened, a the doctor on duty sat in a chair with his feet up, reading the Wall Street Journal. The nurse asked me to fill out some forms before treatment could be given.
I told them what I needed and could I get some NOW !, since my time was running short ? The nurse explained that the paperwork had to be filled out before they could do anything for me. After filling out the third form, concerning who would be responcible for payment, in the event that I died, I started to get mad. I asked again if I could get some Hydrosol. The nurse said no, they didn't use that, they used medicine. I got madder. I crumbled up the papers and threw them at the nurse and doctor and stormed out of the facility. My old girlfriend's house was a few miles away. I decided to go there, lay down and die.
When I arrived I found no one was home except her 90 year old grandmother. She told me to laydown on the couch and she was going to fix a poultice for me. A poultice ??? I knew what they were, I just didn't know they were still used. The old woman took a damp cloth and placed baking soda over the moist material and then added a slice of onion and a slice of apple and placed this on the finger, where I was stung. Within minutes the swelling was gone and I'm still here to tell the story.
It was back in the 1980's and I had driven out to Indiana and decided to stop in and see if some friends of mine were home ? They had built a house and barn on top of a huge hill near Saint Leon, Indiana. Once I got to the top of the hill I discovered my friends weren't home but he had pulled his 1969 Dodge Charger with a 426cu.in engine out of the barn. I just had to pop the hood... I wanted to see that Elephant Motor one more time.
As I reached under the hood to pop the latch, I was stung by a mud-dauber wasp. I didn't have any Hydrosol with me. The doctor said if I could apply Hydrosol within 30 minutes of being stung, I'd be okay. Franticly I drove to Harrison, Ohio and pulled in to an Urgent Care type of facility. I walked in and told the girl at the desk what had happened, a the doctor on duty sat in a chair with his feet up, reading the Wall Street Journal. The nurse asked me to fill out some forms before treatment could be given.
I told them what I needed and could I get some NOW !, since my time was running short ? The nurse explained that the paperwork had to be filled out before they could do anything for me. After filling out the third form, concerning who would be responcible for payment, in the event that I died, I started to get mad. I asked again if I could get some Hydrosol. The nurse said no, they didn't use that, they used medicine. I got madder. I crumbled up the papers and threw them at the nurse and doctor and stormed out of the facility. My old girlfriend's house was a few miles away. I decided to go there, lay down and die.
When I arrived I found no one was home except her 90 year old grandmother. She told me to laydown on the couch and she was going to fix a poultice for me. A poultice ??? I knew what they were, I just didn't know they were still used. The old woman took a damp cloth and placed baking soda over the moist material and then added a slice of onion and a slice of apple and placed this on the finger, where I was stung. Within minutes the swelling was gone and I'm still here to tell the story.
Saved Photos around Landen
Wilderness Cooking Ideas
Cleaning Game Birds this method works on just about any size game bird that you're going to prepare for dinner. Here is a link to show you how.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aEhHzsi5TM
Here is another method for skinning and cleaning pheasant, quail, dove or almost any other game bird.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X5o1JKvFRs&feature=related
Hard Tack Recipes this is an old recipe from before the Civil War(1861) for hard tack biscuits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tql6Z9Z-MEQ&feature=related
I thought this was a pretty incredible video. Pretty much the same recipe as hard tack but not rolling it out as thin and then cooking it in a fire...literally !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J28XTv28_ys&feature=related
Dutch Oven Biscuits !!! Like Jeremiah Johnson made ??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrTBVT9LFb0&feature=related
Chuckwagon Style Cowboy Beans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI_W9zu1x7U&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Frog Legs This video is using Frog Legs and something like Zaterans Yellow Rice mix. Personally, I would use the Jambalaya mix and hope to have a couple more frog legs. Another thing is he didn't let the rice cook all the way but I did like the cup of tea idea while he was getting the water to boil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2m0W1t1BvQ&feature=relmfu
Rabbit a video showing how to cook, smoke and jerk a rabbit. The same can be done with Squirrel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZWbEsP4uII
Crawdads Here is a video clip on how to cook crawdads or crayfish (mud bugs) This is Southern Style but what I want you to see is that she pours salt in with the crawdads and fresh water, this makes the crawdads regurgitate, cleaning out their mud vien. When this is done, you can just snap the tail off, peel off the shell and eat the meat...don't forget to check the claws for meat too. I think this would be good served mixed in with jambalaya mix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6xAtSJthX0&feature=related
Snake Catching and cleaning a snake and preparing it to cook. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQKkuYEQhPo&feature=related
Second part of the video where he actually cooks a different snake. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kr4X-C_qBQ&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Fish I've fileted fish before but always heard that carp were different. I've heard carp was a mild white fish but have seen video showing bigger, older carp and they have lighter and darker meat. I guess the secret is to only eat the light meat. Here is a video showing how to clean a carp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70a1Ks6HFo&feature=related
Here is a video on how to filet a Gar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPVlsw-uOlI&feature=related
Winter Backpacking Survival Kit & Camp Stove
This Youtube video by Dave Cantaberry is very informative and well worth a look, if you're going to be out in winter weather. The basic backpacking supplies pertain to any season but the sellection of clothing and bedding is nice to know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0b0Hv24HlI&feature=g-vrec&context=G2583dfbRVAAAAAAAABg
Talk about being creative...checkout this video of a Canadian made camp stove. Canada has some great garbage and cool recyclable stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hlqHb7sEho&feature=related
NEW Here is a miniature "Pocket Survival Kit" that anyone can make and carry. Cool idea !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYl8lh_5EZY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0b0Hv24HlI&feature=g-vrec&context=G2583dfbRVAAAAAAAABg
Talk about being creative...checkout this video of a Canadian made camp stove. Canada has some great garbage and cool recyclable stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hlqHb7sEho&feature=related
NEW Here is a miniature "Pocket Survival Kit" that anyone can make and carry. Cool idea !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYl8lh_5EZY
Friction Fire Bow Drill Kit
Building a fire by rubbing two sticks together ??? Here's one way, making everything you need in the wilderness. Click on the link below to learn more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5vWqdo3Yw4&feature=related
NEW !!! Make a Fire with Water ???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMOyydXUrYc
NEW !!!! Fire with Plastic Wrap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b29pts14KB4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5vWqdo3Yw4&feature=related
NEW !!! Make a Fire with Water ???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMOyydXUrYc
NEW !!!! Fire with Plastic Wrap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b29pts14KB4
Edible Plants around the area
young Queen Annes Lace are edible carrots
I wanted to find information about what plants around Ohio, in the wilderness, could be found and eaten. I'm attaching a couple of links to pages with this information and recipes.
http://www.5orangepotatoes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/wild-edible-plants-in-ohio.pdf
Cattail Roots can be used and eaten like potatoes after cooking
The base of the cattail stalk is like asparagus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SPzmD4lUZX8&feature=g-vrec&context=G28ac305RVAAAAAAAABA
Queen Annes Lace. The root is similar to a carrot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjyV3gJTA5o&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Wild Onions (commonly called Onion Grass) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZURmWxoontM&feature=related
Maple Pods can be peeled and the seed extracted and boiled and eaten like peas while the helicopters are still green.
Wild Garlic (looks very similar to Onion Grass) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OU_Tv3InYs
Mulberries from a Mulberry Tree (in Spring) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVU-Qe7PxDY&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Dewberries from a dewberry vine (in spring) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLCxcM6uEVY&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Walnuts from the Walnut trees (in Fall) once dried and shelled
Dandelions the leaves, flowers and roots of a dandelion (weed) can be eaten but are bitter in taste...more so than a lemon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZURmWxoontM&feature=related
Sassafras leaves, bark and roots have a number of different uses and makes an excellent tea (iced tea is best, IMO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVAprYfcpIc&feature=related
Wild Leeks (Ramps) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlyqCMCOWJI&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Morel Mushrooms (not my thing) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNh_RC5rSm4&feature=related
http://www.5orangepotatoes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/wild-edible-plants-in-ohio.pdf
Cattail Roots can be used and eaten like potatoes after cooking
The base of the cattail stalk is like asparagus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SPzmD4lUZX8&feature=g-vrec&context=G28ac305RVAAAAAAAABA
Queen Annes Lace. The root is similar to a carrot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjyV3gJTA5o&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Wild Onions (commonly called Onion Grass) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZURmWxoontM&feature=related
Maple Pods can be peeled and the seed extracted and boiled and eaten like peas while the helicopters are still green.
Wild Garlic (looks very similar to Onion Grass) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OU_Tv3InYs
Mulberries from a Mulberry Tree (in Spring) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVU-Qe7PxDY&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Dewberries from a dewberry vine (in spring) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLCxcM6uEVY&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Walnuts from the Walnut trees (in Fall) once dried and shelled
Dandelions the leaves, flowers and roots of a dandelion (weed) can be eaten but are bitter in taste...more so than a lemon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZURmWxoontM&feature=related
Sassafras leaves, bark and roots have a number of different uses and makes an excellent tea (iced tea is best, IMO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVAprYfcpIc&feature=related
Wild Leeks (Ramps) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlyqCMCOWJI&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Morel Mushrooms (not my thing) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNh_RC5rSm4&feature=related
A Link to Medicinal Herbs & Spices for our area
Herbs
I'm attaching a link to a very good web site that tells all about the medicinal qualities of different spices and herbs you may have in your cupboards at home. Dave Cantaberry suggests using film canisters to hold such herbs & spices for cooking and medicine.
http://www.spicesmedicinalherbs.com/
http://www.spicesmedicinalherbs.com/
Lambsear, can be used as a antibacterial dressing for wounds
A Survival Shelter using Debris or Tarp
Here is a link to a Youtube video on how to build a Debris Shelter, parts 1 & 2 These are things they didn't teach in Boy Scouts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myghxFyf6e4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf3AXl-OCAo&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Here is another example of a quick shelter using a tarp in several different ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NijYYJmv2J4&feature=related
Yet another shelter made with a tarp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjazi4gweOs&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myghxFyf6e4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf3AXl-OCAo&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Here is another example of a quick shelter using a tarp in several different ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NijYYJmv2J4&feature=related
Yet another shelter made with a tarp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjazi4gweOs&feature=relmfu
Swedish Fire Torch & Long Fire
NEW !!! Here is a link to how to build and use a Swedish Fire Torch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=WfRovJ1KcCg
NEW !!! A link on how to build a Long Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrUigPJAOJE
NEW !!! Simple camp stove...this is just too COOL !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=I2p9bnOGmSk&NR=1
NEW !!! Here is a really cool bottle stove that boils water faster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us7AeG7OEY4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=WfRovJ1KcCg
NEW !!! A link on how to build a Long Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrUigPJAOJE
NEW !!! Simple camp stove...this is just too COOL !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=I2p9bnOGmSk&NR=1
NEW !!! Here is a really cool bottle stove that boils water faster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us7AeG7OEY4
Traps & Snares
For real life survival in the wilderness, you may need to trap small animals for a meat supply. Here are a couple of links to videos, showing you the basic idea of how to set one up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLe4H2v3co&feature=related
Here is another snare by Dave Canterbury...very simple to make, no tools required and very effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYeJg3KdJRI&feature=endscreen&NR=1
NEW !!! Here is a Fishing Toggle Snare by Dave Canterbury
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPNk0V_jf7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLe4H2v3co&feature=related
Here is another snare by Dave Canterbury...very simple to make, no tools required and very effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYeJg3KdJRI&feature=endscreen&NR=1
NEW !!! Here is a Fishing Toggle Snare by Dave Canterbury
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPNk0V_jf7I