KarenK2063's profile

KarenK2063

KarenK2063 Putting my trust in the Lord in every aspect of my life - every day.
updated 2 months ago

46, Female - Eons member since March 02, 2008

Hometown

Born on Royal Air Force Base - Bentwaters, England

Places I've been

USAF military brat. Dad was a career military person, having spent training time all over the world and spent active duty in Vietnam. He was a fighter pilot and later became a flight instructor and charter pilot. He continues to be active in VFW meetings and related public events - with the primary focus to honor our past and current vets and to also honor the vets spouses who often dealt and deal with many hardships as a result of committing to a military spouse. Mom was one of those spouses who went from being a farm girl in the same town most of her life to becoming the wife of an officer and traveling the world, supporting my dad in all ways. Places lived: George AFC/Victorville, CA; Yakota, Japan; Ishikawa and Kadena AFB, Okinawa. Now my parents have settled back in their childhood hometown in Western Michigan where they have resided for 33 years and have been married 48 years (June, 2008).

Education

Business College, Secretarial - Data Processing - 1981 to 1983

Work

International Construction Equipment Mfg Corp., Administrative Assistant/Office Associate - 1997 to 2008

More about me

I'm 45 and still can't believe I'm not "just" out of highschool . . . until I think about my kids who are in college. In other words, I often behave and feel a lot younger than I really am. I blame this on not getting it "out of my system" via attending a college university and/or doing other 21 year old things when I was at that age. Instead, I was becoming the mother of the first of my two children and assuming the responsibilities that come with motherhood. Now, 22 years later, my kids are successfully graduated from high school and are in college, and I "should" be starting my new found freedom. However, five years ago mom was diagnosed with Alzheimers, and the "me" world screeched to a halt and my eyes were opened to the fact that mom had been struggling with memory issues that I never noticed before. Five and a half years later (i.e. "now"), I have moved in with my parents as mom entered Stage II of Alzheimers. So, the way I see it, I'll always behave like I'm 21 because I haven't had a chance yet to get it out of my system! That's not all bad. I get excited about new, large cities. I LOVE practical jokes that don't hurt people's feelings. People with a special dry sense of humor draw me to them, and I can't get enough of humor. I long to go out and listen to smooth jazz, take weekend trips anywhere; but for now I'm adjusting to the changes in mom and cherishing every day I have with her. This whole experience has drawn me closer to God. For that I am very grateful and hope that I continue to grow in my Christianity long into the future when I'm no longer needed by my parents. Since my introductory info here on Eons, I've seen my mom progress to the mid stages/entering into the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease. In January 2008 I took a Certified Nurse's Aide course and became state certified in June. I became employed at a local nursing home to do third shift work only on weekends to allow me to learn from their dementia residents and to practice the procedures for lifting, caring, etc. so that I could apply that to my mom at home. Just recently I resigned from the nursing home job as the lack of sleep from working a regular 40 hour job and then a third shift weekend was breaking down my immune system and causing me to become ill. I miss the residents very much, but I did gain knowledge that will help me with mom. She is now unable to eat enough food to keep her weight up. She needs instructions in eating and reminders to continue to eat. Even so, she has dropped 20+ pounds in the past year. She is just starting to see things and talk to pictures. She is extremely tired - more like lethargic during the day. The inability to work less hours so that I may be home with her has caused me internal guilt and stress. I worry so much about her and about my father, her primary caregiver. We have two nurse's aides coming in twice each week. I hope to increase that to four times per week once I know I'm able to financially. In November, 2008 I attended a conference sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association and located at a conference room near the University of Michigan Hospital. The panel of researchers present were from throughout the country. The people invited were doctors, med students, and the general public (i.e. "me") as long as we pre-registered. The full day conference was very informative; however, it was obvious that the goal of this group was to focus on the cause of Alzheimers and to focus on earlier detection of Alzheimers. I had so wanted to hear about any upcoming treatments being tested to stop Alzheimers. It was a bittersweet conference.

Activities