Dear Friends and Followers,
I just thought I would tell you about another great opportunity I had to celebrate tonight. Tonight was the Student Ambassador Celebration for Alex. What an incredible group of young leaders these students are learning to be. I watched Alex up on the stage with all of the other ambassadors and was so pleased with his choices and drive. I am indeed a very lucky and blessed mother. A few months ago I was filled with saddness but nights like tonight tend to light the darkness with hope. Afterwards we celebrated the evening with Culver's ice cream. What a "sweet" way to end an awesome evening. We went with our dear friends across the street and just really enjoyed laughing together and relaxing. Living is so much more exciting when you take time to celebrate! Take care and tell someone how much they mean to YOU today!
Sincerely,
Debbie Huffine
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Life Moves On
Dear Friends and Followers,
Sorry I haven't been a very good blogger the past few weeks but life has gotten very busy. We are deep in the heat of soccer season and we seem to have at least two activities each night. In case you haven't heard Eric was not successful in his attempt at being elected to the Pike School Board. He lost by 38 votes. It is a number that will haunt us for many years (2) to come. We have already found 5 people who didn't vote who thought he didn't need their votes. We have learned how important it is to support what you beleive in. Everyone has encouraged him to run again. We have learned an enormous amount through the process. Some of what we have learned brings ah ha moments some just makes you mad. Anyway, tune in later to where we go from here. I have only 7 more days of school so I am looking forward to a bit of catching up.
The biggest news is that my mom has agreed to move into the condo. The housing market is just not great right now and it is such a nice place for her we are looking forward to having her close. Her move in date is the end of June.
Lastly, I had the priviledge to attend my oldest nephew's college graduation this weekend, Eric Peters. He received his masters in Hospital Administration and already has a job. I know he will be an amazing administrator because he is one of the most amazing people I know. I even got to see his son, Simon, he has grown so much and he looked so cute. I loved the turtles on his pants. I took mom so she could attend and she really loved it. It is so great to have happy moments to celebrate. Today I had to take Natalie to have a tooth fixed and her dentist said a friend told him never pass up a time to celebrate because there are way to many times we are attending not so happy moments. I am grateful we were able to be included and could rejoice in Eric's hard work. I know Grandpa Peters would have been extremely proud!
Well, that is all for now. I need to get ready for another busy week but know I am thinking of all of you daily. We went through some boxes at my dad's on Friday and it always amazes me how fast time flies by and we are left wondering where the time went. At my dad's funeral several people said they really felt like they should get a in touch with my dad the past year. They were grieved they missed the opportunity. Don't miss the opportunity to reach out to someone you haven't seen. They and you will benefit from the gesture more than you know.
Lots of Love,
Debbie
Sorry I haven't been a very good blogger the past few weeks but life has gotten very busy. We are deep in the heat of soccer season and we seem to have at least two activities each night. In case you haven't heard Eric was not successful in his attempt at being elected to the Pike School Board. He lost by 38 votes. It is a number that will haunt us for many years (2) to come. We have already found 5 people who didn't vote who thought he didn't need their votes. We have learned how important it is to support what you beleive in. Everyone has encouraged him to run again. We have learned an enormous amount through the process. Some of what we have learned brings ah ha moments some just makes you mad. Anyway, tune in later to where we go from here. I have only 7 more days of school so I am looking forward to a bit of catching up.
The biggest news is that my mom has agreed to move into the condo. The housing market is just not great right now and it is such a nice place for her we are looking forward to having her close. Her move in date is the end of June.
Lastly, I had the priviledge to attend my oldest nephew's college graduation this weekend, Eric Peters. He received his masters in Hospital Administration and already has a job. I know he will be an amazing administrator because he is one of the most amazing people I know. I even got to see his son, Simon, he has grown so much and he looked so cute. I loved the turtles on his pants. I took mom so she could attend and she really loved it. It is so great to have happy moments to celebrate. Today I had to take Natalie to have a tooth fixed and her dentist said a friend told him never pass up a time to celebrate because there are way to many times we are attending not so happy moments. I am grateful we were able to be included and could rejoice in Eric's hard work. I know Grandpa Peters would have been extremely proud!
Well, that is all for now. I need to get ready for another busy week but know I am thinking of all of you daily. We went through some boxes at my dad's on Friday and it always amazes me how fast time flies by and we are left wondering where the time went. At my dad's funeral several people said they really felt like they should get a in touch with my dad the past year. They were grieved they missed the opportunity. Don't miss the opportunity to reach out to someone you haven't seen. They and you will benefit from the gesture more than you know.
Lots of Love,
Debbie
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Getting Something Done!
Dear Followers,
I am pleased to announce that I have finished my inquiry project. I collected all the information several weeks ago but did not have time to put it in a form to share all the knowledge I gained. I wanted to do a "report" in Prezi because I had never tried it before. I don't know if I did it correctly but I finished it. I even surprised Eric, the tech guru was surprised. Here is the link, check it out and see what you think.
http://prezi.com/bx1idmupj1_p/edit/#58
This is dedicated to my dad. If it can help anyone's walk with Vascular Dementia be more informed then it has indeed served it's purpose. Thank you for your support and prayers.
Fondly,
Debbie
I am pleased to announce that I have finished my inquiry project. I collected all the information several weeks ago but did not have time to put it in a form to share all the knowledge I gained. I wanted to do a "report" in Prezi because I had never tried it before. I don't know if I did it correctly but I finished it. I even surprised Eric, the tech guru was surprised. Here is the link, check it out and see what you think.
http://prezi.com/bx1idmupj1_p/edit/#58
This is dedicated to my dad. If it can help anyone's walk with Vascular Dementia be more informed then it has indeed served it's purpose. Thank you for your support and prayers.
Fondly,
Debbie
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Good Grief Charlie Brown
Dear Followers,
It has been several weeks since my last blog. In some ways I feel like a new chapter has began. Life has been very strange. I think about Charlie Brown's famous saying and I think I understand it better. Grief is a good thing mostly but it is not a fun thing to have. I am still struggling with the decision to put my dad in hospice. I still see my dad's eyes looking into mine and it seems he is silently asking for my help. I feel that moving him to hospice denied him that chance. I understand how sick he was but watching him die still haunts me. I will be sound asleep and suddenly see his face with his dropped jaw struggling to breathe. Needless to say there is very little sleeping that happens after those images.
Weekends are the hardest for me. I woke up this morning with an incredible feeling of sadness. I was supposed to go to a meeting but I couldn't even bring myself to let anybody see me in my sad state. It is like a hole opens up inside of me and all of my energy and thought gets sucked in. When my spirits start to lift I find I am just exhausted and my brain just can't think. It is easier to work because I can fill my head with things to do and goals to accomplish. Being at home makes me focus on the other parts of my life of which my dad occupied so much.
The hardest part of grief is the lack of understanding by other people. When dad died everyone was so sympathetic. Everyone understood the pain and saddness my heart was going through but the further away you get from the funeral the more people get busy and move on. I now go a week without anyone mentioning my dad. It goes back to that hole. You become embarrassed to express your saddness fearing the lack of understanding.
I play a game with myself, it is called forget it happened. That works for quiet a while then reality sets in and the pain comes rushing back in my heart. The worst part is that I am a bit optimist. Being sad is just not what I do well. If I could answer the questions in my head about dad maybe there would be peace. Did I do the right thing taking him to the hospital that day before Thanksgiving? That is the day everything changed. I never thought it would hurt so bad.
What have I learned? First of all Kym and Amy have stressed to us to reflect on our process. I have learned to listen to people. When people are hurting the worst thing you can do is look too busy to listen to them. Grief has no timeline so caring for people after a loss is a much longer process than a few days. Hugs are a great sense of healing, don't flinch if the person you are hugging starts to cry. Let hurting people know you are there for them for as long as you need them. Lastly, writing helps me put my thought into words. Grief is paralyzing to me. Writing is liberating for me. If I can train myself to write more and cry less I may get through this. Thanks for listening. Please know how much I value all of you.
Sincerely,
Debbie
It has been several weeks since my last blog. In some ways I feel like a new chapter has began. Life has been very strange. I think about Charlie Brown's famous saying and I think I understand it better. Grief is a good thing mostly but it is not a fun thing to have. I am still struggling with the decision to put my dad in hospice. I still see my dad's eyes looking into mine and it seems he is silently asking for my help. I feel that moving him to hospice denied him that chance. I understand how sick he was but watching him die still haunts me. I will be sound asleep and suddenly see his face with his dropped jaw struggling to breathe. Needless to say there is very little sleeping that happens after those images.
Weekends are the hardest for me. I woke up this morning with an incredible feeling of sadness. I was supposed to go to a meeting but I couldn't even bring myself to let anybody see me in my sad state. It is like a hole opens up inside of me and all of my energy and thought gets sucked in. When my spirits start to lift I find I am just exhausted and my brain just can't think. It is easier to work because I can fill my head with things to do and goals to accomplish. Being at home makes me focus on the other parts of my life of which my dad occupied so much.
The hardest part of grief is the lack of understanding by other people. When dad died everyone was so sympathetic. Everyone understood the pain and saddness my heart was going through but the further away you get from the funeral the more people get busy and move on. I now go a week without anyone mentioning my dad. It goes back to that hole. You become embarrassed to express your saddness fearing the lack of understanding.
I play a game with myself, it is called forget it happened. That works for quiet a while then reality sets in and the pain comes rushing back in my heart. The worst part is that I am a bit optimist. Being sad is just not what I do well. If I could answer the questions in my head about dad maybe there would be peace. Did I do the right thing taking him to the hospital that day before Thanksgiving? That is the day everything changed. I never thought it would hurt so bad.
What have I learned? First of all Kym and Amy have stressed to us to reflect on our process. I have learned to listen to people. When people are hurting the worst thing you can do is look too busy to listen to them. Grief has no timeline so caring for people after a loss is a much longer process than a few days. Hugs are a great sense of healing, don't flinch if the person you are hugging starts to cry. Let hurting people know you are there for them for as long as you need them. Lastly, writing helps me put my thought into words. Grief is paralyzing to me. Writing is liberating for me. If I can train myself to write more and cry less I may get through this. Thanks for listening. Please know how much I value all of you.
Sincerely,
Debbie
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The later stages of dementia - Alzheimer's Society
The later stages of dementia - Alzheimer's Society: "If the person with dementia remains in the same position for too long - for example, in a bed or chair - they may develop pressure sores. Pressure sores need immediate attention, as they can easily become infected and painful."
The later stages of dementia - Alzheimer's Society
The later stages of dementia - Alzheimer's Society: "Some people experience hallucinations, in which they see, smell, hear, taste or feel things that are not really there. Others develop delusions, in which they experience distorted ideas about what is happening. If the person is distressed, distracting and comforting them can help."
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