I took my Mom, (we have not been in almost a year due to both her and I being ill, so this was supposed to be an incredible trip!
Mom has been showing so MANY signs of either Dementia or Alzheimer's now for 2 years or so to me. Yet, the last 6 months have gotten terrible. I could write a book on just what I have been through due to her "diminishing" ability to "think, not be confused, not to almost burn the house down, to not be able to pay her bills, or even read her mail" and the list goes on and on... and remember I AM ALONE NOW, I AM CHRONICALLY ILL WITH SEVERAL AUTOIMMUNE ILLNESSES MYSELF, AND LIVE WITH HORRIBLE CHRONIC PAIN... so to have to also deal with some of these things with her some days is more than I can handle almost...
So, this is a bit about our overnight trip to the Casino at Winstar in OK....
(From Friday evening after getting home)
TOO WORN OUT, TO EXPLAIN all the HELL at the Casino the past two days,
but yesterday ALL OF THE MACHINES WERE DOWN MOST OF THE DAY! TODAY MOM
LOST ANOTHER credit card! I JUST HAD TO CALL ONE IN LAST WEEK SHE LOST
here in town. So, today, she "discovers" she lost another one! Then she
misplaced her cane about 10 TIMES at least... other than that, and
HORRID nightmare traffic going especially but coming back also ROAD
CONSTRUCTION EVERYWHERE!!! But, other that those things all
in
all, it was a GOOD TWO DAYS!!!! LOL!!! Oh and my kitchen was still
standing when I got home. LOL... The pups were in the kitchen with their
quilts, food, blankets, toys, water, etc... and actually I still had a
house standing.... LOL!!!! More over the weekend, I am totally wiped OUT! But, I came home with
only 20.00 LESS THAN what I went with... so I guess that is a good thing .....
(Today Saturday morning I continue) .......
Those
issues, and that we had not really gotten to play much at all on
Thursday, (can you imagine how much money the Casino lost?) Their "main
server" went down for some weird reason that does everything for
all of the slot machines! In fact I sat down and played, and was going
to switch machines, and it would not print me a ticket with my money on
it... so then I began to notice ALL of the machines were "blinking" and
people we saying the same thing I did!!!! So they really had one heck of
a mess. And of course the day we decide to go of all times!!!!! I am so
totally worn out today thought... Mom "lost" can her cane 5 times. Once
I had to go and ask about it. And "lost and found" brought it to me,
someone had turned it in... the other times "I" finally found it, once
she could try and recall which machines she had been at. It was a
nightmare... then when she found out her credit card was GONE... I just
went nuts almost. Thank Goodness it was a "credit" card and not a debit
card for her checking account. They may have been much worse. I had to
get home first, find an old statement of hers, so I could even find
where to call to cancel it... and then bring her information home and
call them. Then she could not decide to eat at the Casino (we did not
eat breakfast at first like usual) and just played thinking we would
play an hour or two, then eat and leave. This was like 6:30AM or so...
so by about 10AM, even I started getting hungry. The night before she
would not even eat down in the Casino like we usually do. She wanted to
get something and take it to the room... which was fine with me, but
just weird. We went up "early" about 7:00PM to the room, and had gotten
some really good fish and fries, much, much more than either of us could
eat... we should have ordered just one and split it. So, I turned on
the TV and was watching a movie... the next thing I know she is in the
bed, with the extra blanket, already asleep by about 8:30PM or so. I
could not believe it, and she never woke up at all, and usually she is
up and down several times a night.. I finally decided to lay down also,
so I changed and got in bed, and I woke up by 5AM on Friday and HOPED
the slot machines were okay... But. I was already drinking a cup of coffee,
I had made their in the room (which sucks) but I needed something...
and was almost dressed by the time she was up moving, ready and packing.
Like I said it was just strange everything she did. Heck, when we were
going to the Casino, she sat and spent like an hour almost going back
and forth through her purse. I thought maybe she lost something... but
she was just "confused" I think about everything... then she kept saying
we should be there already, and I said YES, if we had not been in stop
and go traffic for about 35 or 40 miles or more off and on, we would
have been there in about 2 hours... it took almost 3 and a half or more
hours to just get there this time! Anyway, I parked and again she began
going through her purse, and taking stuff in and out... and I finally
asked her Mom have you forgotten something? She just said I cannot get
it all organized, and then she had her "Players club card" in her hand,
or lap and started saying she "lost it"... I looked down and said Mom it
is right there in your lap..... anyway, I knew then it was not going to
be a incredibly exciting trip... and one time about 2PM on Thursday, I
told her to "SIT" and do NOT move from a certain spot... I was headed to
get some tea, and go to the restroom, which was a long ways down, and
then I told her I was going to try and check in to the room... so DO NOT
MOVE! I get back and she is GONE! So, I thought gosh knows where the
hell she is now... so I started looking, and finally spotted her
rambling around, and I said WHY DID you MOVE??? She said well you were
taking a long time... and I said I TOLD YOU, it is a MILE almost to walk
from where we were to the HOTEL to check in! So, yes by the time I got
there, got something to drink and went to the restroom it took a while,
but why the hell you did not STAY where i said to... and she just looked
at me... LOL! Anyway, it was okay and I had a wonderful time JUST BEING
AWAY FOR A DAY OR SO AND A NIGHT, from the house, dogs, and just
"Life".. BUT, I FEEL Mom will not be going back there again... if we do
go to one, we may have to go to one of the smaller ones, who has already
grown huge also... but she even said it, I just don't think I can go
through this again, OR put YOU through all of it... and I told her Mom,
it is fine, I did not mind and We BOTH needed to be away for a day and
night... I told her I have my OFF days also... BUT now she really sees
what I have been seeing for several years, and really bad the past 6
months... she goes to our PCP on the 22nd, and I am going to have a huge
discussion with him... this is not just "old age", this is definitely
more than that... I just PRAY it is not Alzheimer's.... Dementia is
severe and bad enough, but the other, I watched my Grandfather go
through that, and I surely do NOT want anyone to have to deal with
Alzheimer's it is a horrid illness for sure..
