Little by Little...

Robert has a new psychiatrist and I have great hopes for his interventions. He spent 1/1/2 hours alone with Robert and then about 40 minutes with me (at La Casa Nostra, BTW). He knows and understands Lewy Body Dementia and agrees with the diagnosis. I am greatly relieved. No one told him Robert’s diagnosis before his session with him. He ordered happy lights for his room, and an Exelon patch. (google it, it looks really promising to me). Robert has been wearing the patch for about a week. It is at the very lowest dosage to start, so can’t tell if there is any change. He has tranquil days….and some very agitated days. In about 3 months (one thing at a time….waiting to see how Robert reacts to the patch) Dr. Aldana will start treating Robert for the Parkinson’s symptoms. He thinks meds can recover some of his mobility…..at least for awhile. I am so sorry that Robert is pretty unhappy much of the time. And who wouldn't be? He has lost most of his mobility, his short term memory is failing, he's dependent for most activities of daily living. Still he can carry on good intellectual conversations. Robert is his best self when he is with other people. 

When I arrived at La Casa Nostra yesterday there was a fiesta beginning. A new resident, Jean, is obviously very beloved in the community. Friends have been bringing her to meals for a couple of months while they wait for a room for her (the rooms around the courtyard have a very long waiting list) to get her used to la Casa Nostra and the other residents. The friends call themselves Team Jean. Yesterday they had arranged a big birthday bash and housewarming party for her. I’m afraid dear Jean won’t remember it. She is a darling woman and very charming. Anyway, there was cake and balloons and music and dancing. In fact they hired a dance instructor to be there to sort of teach a little salsa, but also to dance with everyone and get things going. Robert was able to stand in front of his wheelchair for about a song and a half and we jiggled, swayed, danced. He had a huge grin. I had a nice dance with Tony, a little salsa. When Robert is with people, especially Tony, he is quite himself. The people there are fond of him and call him “quite a special guy.” I do my best to take him to the garden when I’m there. Here are a few photos from the party:

Heart brothers

Group dance

   

Tony says he loves this chapter of his life because of the people there (both staff and residents) and because of what he is learning. He says it is God’s plan. I like that he talks this way with Robert. 

Let’s see. A little slice from my life. I now ride buses more than I take cabs. The bus can be quite an experience. Sometimes they are so crowded you can barely squeeze another person in. People sit on the dashboard. Sometimes the bus driver has his kid with him. Sometimes musicians get on and play hoping for tips. The other day the bus was so crowded several of us entered by the back door. To pay we handed our money to someone in front of us who passed the money to the front. I had a 20 peso note and the fare is 10 pesos. I saw my note go forward. Pretty soon 10 pesos were handed back down the line to me.

Yesterday I took the bus to Robert @ 11:00 a.m. and the party was just starting. I left at about 1:30 because I needed to be in Ajijic by 2:00 for an appointment with Polo, the hearing aid guy (he comes from guadalajara to LCS every monday and every 1st and 3rd saturday). Both Robert and I had hearing aids not working. I waited quite awhile for the bus and then it zoomed past me because it was too full. I started hailing cabs as they came by. One pulled over….and he was a cabbie I’ve had many times before. He was dropping a woman off right where I was! So I jumped in and he got me to my appt just in time. I think of these experiences as little miracles. Polo was able to repair our hearing aids. While talking to him I decided I will buy myself new state of the art hearing aids from him for my birthday. They cost more or less the same as in the U.S., and I’ll get a 15% discount because I’m an LCS member (Lake Chapala Society). While leaving Polo I got text from a friend telling me she and her husband would be coming through Ajijic soon and would be going grocery shopping and to pick up the leather chairs we ordered last week from the guy who makes them. I sat on a curb and waited for them to pick me up on their way by. Living without a car can be challenging at times, like doing major grocery shopping or picking up large things like the chair and footstool I ordered. So another little miracle that a friend just happened to be going grocery shopping and coming by where I was.

This is the guy who made my desk chair and foot stool. My stool is like the one he is sitting on. My chair is more or less like the one he is working on. 700 pesos for the chair. 400 for the stool. Total about $60 U.S. for both. They turned out beautifully and I am sitting in my new equipale chair right now. 

BIG NEWS! I’m so happy. I had blood work done to get established with my new doc here, Dr. Santiago Hernandez. As usual my cholesterol is high while everything else is totally normal. I have been really worried that my arteries might be getting clogged, so I decided to get an ultrasound of my corotid artery. I was really scared to know the outcome. The outcome  is really good! My corotid arteries are 95% to 98% clear. Whoop! I was lying there while he was doing it planning my trip home to have them reamed out I was so sure it would be bad. I told Dr. Hernandez I don’t want to take statins. He prescribed lots of fish/krill oil and metamucil daily. In 6 weeks I’ll have another blood draw. Incidentally, my first visit with Dr. Hernandez was 1200 pesos. After the first each visit is 800 pesos. $60 for the first and $40 thereafter. The ultrasound was $110.00 and practically next door to the doctors office. Everything is close and convenient. 

Today I have no interest in going anywhere. I want to study Spanish (I’m taking a once a week class right on my street!), sketch, walk the malecon, rearrange some stuff regarding my desk space, find dinner somewhere, and watch more episodes of Offspring. Tomorrow is another “out there” day. In a few days Dawn, Robert's daughter, and Sarah, our 12 year old granddaughter will be waking up here for the first time and we will be beginning our adventure together here. Robert is anxious/excited about their visit. He’s telling everyone they are coming. Only he thinks it’s today. Or tomorrow.

My neighbourhood is unfolding to me a little more every day. I think of Mexico as a hidden place. You never know what you will find behind a gate or door. There are 3 very well regarded traditional Mexican restaurants within two blocks of my house. I went to one with neighbours last night and was glad I had their guidance regarding how and what to order. It is nothing like Mexican food I have had before. I look forward to more lessons in eating traditional Mexican food. My Spanish class is just down the block, and I found a hair cutter a few blocks away who did a great job on my hair. Poco y poco. Little by little.