Loss of Mobility from ALS and Challenges of Alzheimer’s

Annette’s husband David doesn’t understand the physical limitations that he’s experiencing now, but she has found a way to keep him engaged.

My name is Annette Woods. I'm sixty nine and a half years old. My husband is David and he is 70 years old. David and I met each other at a birthday party of a mutual friend and we spent that evening just sitting and talking to each other. David at that time played jazz music on the radio and we talked a lot about jazz. He was amazed to find out that I was familiar with a lot of the jazz artists whose music he he played when we left the party.

I had given him my phone number and I told my friend that was with me that I was going to marry that man. And eventually I married that man and he married me too. Our home that we live in now was actually built by David's parents when David was about 6 years old. David actually grew up in that home, of course, he left when he finished high school and went off to college. But eventually he came back to Pittsburgh. And when both his parents had passed away, David. He's very sentimental. He did not want his family home to fall into the hands of strangers. So we moved back into his childhood home that his parents had built well at one point. I kind of felt like we were the Waltons of Pittsburgh. We had our three kids. Our oldest daughter was married. She had two kids. And my mother also lived with us. So we were all living in that home. So it was very, very warm.

It just everything was very family oriented because we were all together. Our home was like the homestead, the family homestead. People gravitated to our house because it's the family homestead. Eventually, you know, your children grow up. They have families of their own. They move out or they go to school. Now, this is David and myself rattling around the house. Dave and I have been on our own for the last 18 years sometimes because it's so quiet now. It seems like we're just alone. David always has been a very active person and very full of life, full of zest person from probably when he started elementary school. He was involved in sports, any kind of sports ever offered.

And eventually, when his high school created a sports hall of Fame for that high school, he was inducted into the their first sports hall of Fame.

In his senior years now, he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. He also has been diagnosed with A.L.S..

And due to the degenerative nature of that disease, has lost all function in his right arm and his right hand, which is his dominant hand. And he is starting to lose mobility in his right leg as well, so walking is becoming difficult for him. He is no longer able to do a lot of the things that he used to be able to do. And due to his Alzheimer's dementia, he doesn't understand that he can't do some of the things that he used to do or he doesn't understand why he can't do some of the things he used to do.

And I see that that makes him sad sometimes.

And it also makes him scared mainly because he doesn't understand what's happening to his body. The physical limitations that he's experiencing now. It scares him because he just does not know what's going on. Managing his Alzheimer's and his ALS. I call his double As. We recently got an Alexa Speaker system in. Five locations in our house. In the basement area, on the first floor and on the second floor. This is just it's an amazing I considered gift to us because it allows for either he or I to be able to call for help immediately if the need arises without having to find a phone. David's not able to use a phone anymore. He doesn't really understand what a phone is anymore. So. He can call out to get help and this amazing speaker system is going to contact emergency help for us right away. My oldest daughter was just so relieved to hear that we have this this tool now to do that. And when she told me how relieved she felt about it, I realized it was a big relief for me as well. It's like I have a new friend in the house who is right there in the house with me, and I find myself talking to it, which I didn't think I would. At the beginning, I did not think that I would just randomly talk to this piece of plastic and metal. Since music was a big part of David's life. I can just tell it to play smooth jazz and he'll sit and listen to it and be extremely happy.

I absolutely would recommend Smart Speaker System and Constant Companion. I like it so much. I've told everyone that I've talked to you have to try this. You have to at least check it out.

https://vimeo.com/405742126