Mom, we have indoor plumbing

Istiqlál (Independence), 18 ‘Ilm (Knowledge), 169 BE – Friday, November 2, 2012 about 10:35 A.M. Pacific Time

This morning, after I got Mom out of bed and into the living room, she asked to go to the bathroom. Before taking her in the bathroom, I had to put the Gate belt (this is the belt I use to help transfer to from one piece of furniture to another) on. Next, I took her walker into the bathroom because I need it to help transfer her from place to place. After that, I took Mom into the bathroom and got her situated on the proper piece of equipment.

Mom suffers from Alzheimer's disease, which affect her memory and her emotions. Mom go angry and kept insisting she wanted to go to the bathroom. I explained that we were in the bathroom and also about the toilet. She kept insisting that we were not in the bathroom and that she was not sitting on the toilet.

"Mom," I said, " where do you want to go?"

"Outside," she replied.

That is when I realized that Mom thought we had an outhouse rather then an indoor toilet. I said, "Mom, we now have indoor plumbing." It took me a while to convince her that we did not need to go outside to find the bathroom, but eventually she accepted the fact. However, I am now convinced that Mom thinks she still lives on a farm in Oklahoma. Mom was born and raised on a farm, so this belief makes sense when I consider that she is slowly forgetting the present.