So, I've been pretty much AWOL lately. But that's not anything unusual I suppose, seems like Patchy is as patchy does.

So Mum-in-law and Pop-in-law are in their rented house and were doing quite nicely. For a time. Then about 3 months ago the slide started. Mum has been slipping down an increasingly steeper slope since then, rocking Pop something awful. Sorry to say he's not the brightest fella out there AND he's exceptionally good at selfishness so we've kinda had a bit of a fight on our hands.

Pop is happy to take care of Mum but finally admitted recently that it's more because of the attention HE gets for being such a 'good and faithful' husband, not because he's got some sorta kind heart. Accordingly he can be a bit rough with her when it's time to move and can be stubborn about taking a 'No!' when she just wants to stay home. Or when she doesn't want another bite of food. Or doesn't wanna get up. And when she falls asleep (which she does more than ever, about 16-20 hrs sleep a day) he thinks it's no big deal to just hop in the car and go shopping or go to the driving range or just take a walk. Seems like no big deal, 'cept for Mum can't stand or walk unassisted. And she's fallen 9 times since last summer (that we know of) and several of those falls were when he was just in another room ..... and didn't realize she was awake. He's not only rough, impatient, and negligent but he's also in denial.

Last week we had an intervention of sorts with him and he finally admitted what we suspected, he thinks that any time she doesn't do something he demands that she is just being stubborn. He honestly thought that her limitations were ALL just hissy fits despite being told repeatedly by us, doctors, and therapist that she just wasn't capable. Some times her mind is not up to it, some times her strength is insufficient, and some times her mind's signals never reach the muscles. It took almost 2 hours before he'd even entertain the possibility.

It won't be long before I start the pressure to have her put where she can get more help. Right now the family isn't taking me seriously in general, they've all learned their coping from Pop and principal number one in Pops mind is that he's the smartest guy in the room even if the subject is something he's never done before. I think I've mentioned before that I can't have him over to help me and will not help him unless he leaves the room because he'll insist everything be done his way no matter how little he knows about a thing.

So back to Mum. Like I said, she can't stand or walk without assistance. She needs bathroom assistance, can't dress herself, and everything tastes terrible to her unless it's sweet. She can't say a complete sentence and now can no longer string together enough words to convey a thought. Some times she talks in gibberish because her mind can't find words. And more recently she has started to temporarily lose recognition of those around her. Hopefully it won't be long before we can convince Pop to let her go to assisted living because she's not living right now. It took all of us ganging up on Pop to convince him to let her stay home Sunday instead of going to church where she gets all agitated and confused from over-stimulation. His only concern was the people would think less of him for 'letting her out' of church when she should be there.