Alma

Alma
Alma in College

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Inhibitions

Alma’s mood swings continue to perplex us as we have seen a drastic variation with her ups and downs. For the moment, we are monitoring her and I will take her back to her doctor if it continues. That being said, her highs seem to appear with more frequency than her lows. Therefore, I hate to mess with it too much as we are finding her much more agreeable and generally happy. For example; yesterday when I picked her up at day care and asked about her day she told me, "It was good. All I do is make people laugh and laugh” as she was cracking herself up. I told her she should start doing stand up comedy and she said, “I could do that. Everyone loves me”.

I had her quarterly “treatment planning” meeting at the Adult Care Center. We all agree that Alma has adjusted well and seems to really enjoy “working” there. The nurse and director report that Alma is wonderful with the other participants and often spends time talking with and redirecting them when they are having a bad day. They also report that she willingly participates in activities and loves to dance when there is music.

I spoke with my Psychology Advisor from Hollins when I ran into her the other day and asked her about inhibitions. She was very patient with me as she reminded me that it is the frontal lobe of the brain that houses emotions and inhibitions. Even though if I was paying attention in her class I would have already known this, she went on to explain that the “scrambling” in the brain that occurs with Alzheimer’s has a great effect on inhibitions and can result in a lowering of them in patients.

I don’t mean to sound insensitive but I would be lying if I didn’t share that I am grateful for this aspect of the disease. I have shared previously that Alma led her life fairly repressed (that is my humble opinion-others should feel free to interject here). I never saw her dance, laugh without abandon, or talk about the fact that people love her. She was always fairly depressed and this isn’t the first time that I’ve expressed how lovely it is to witness this new found freedom in her. She reminds me of that famous quote…..

“Dance as if no one is watching. Love as though you’ve never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth. “souza


Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. JOJuly 20, 2011 at 6:06 AM

    HI LISE,
    LOVE THE QUOTE AND IF WE ALL LIVED ACCORDING TO THAT PHILOSOPHY, WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT WOULD MAKE IN THE WORLD. IT IS A BLESSING THAT ALMA, NOW IN HER ILLNESS, IS ABLE TO EXPERIENCE AND SHARE SOME OF THE WONDERFUL EMOTIONS THAT SHE KEPT BURIED FOR SO VERY LONG. I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN WITH OTHERS WHO WERE SO VERY PRIM AND PROPER WHEN THEY WERE "WELL" AND THEN, AFTER THE ILLNESS STRIKES SEEM TO REALLY LET LOOSE AND START TO ENJOY LIFE.
    KEEP SHARING AND DOING THE GREAT JOB YOU ARE DOING.
    LOVE,
    JO

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ed AmbroseJuly 25, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    I couldn't have said this better than our dear Jo. You are amazing,dear daughter!

    With continued love and pride from both of us..

    Dad

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 1, 2011 at 8:25 AM

    Lise,

    This is Rodney. I went to school with Keith.

    Recently, I've been listening to Oliver Sacks's "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" on audiobook. He observes that music can help those with frontal lobe damage engage with the world and that some will actually have spontaneous remembrances of music from their youth in ways that help them cope. He also mentions episodes of disinhibition. It may be worth a read for you.

    I remember Alma fondly as a loving mother who indulged her odd son and his odd friends within reasonable limits. I remember trying hard to respect her wishes and boundaries when I was at their apartment, though I don't recall how well I succeeded.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)