The Clock Stopped

BikingOldMan · September 21

In the middle of a concentrated time of reviewing important documents (…and needing a break) I was interrupted with DW coming into the room upset because the clock "stopped again!" and her TV shows were all mixed up "I give up!" she said.

I managed to not react and instead said kindly "Can you show me so that I can fix it?"

Once into the living room she pointed to the TV and said "See — that program is running overtime again. The program I wanted to watch should be on now at 11 — I'm going to miss it again!".

I then looked at the living room clock which read perfectly, and asked her to check her watch - she agreed that the two were the same. I simply stated that the problem couldn't be the clock. So "mr. Fixit" to the rescue brought TV to live from the DVR that she was watching, and her missing" program came to life!

The concept of watching a program that is being recorded on DVR vs watching that same program on live just isn't available to my MBA educated DW at this time. As much as I've tried to explain how to tell the difference between live and DVR it just hasn't taken permanent residence in her mind. She likes being able to fast forward through ads, and she does do that regularly, but sometimes she can't fast forward because she isn't watching DVR but is watching live.

Sometimes "Confusion reigneth supreme!" The TV control has been a continued source of confusion for her.

annie51 · September 21

So sad to see our loved ones struggling with things that are so simple or that they were expert at before. The remote was one of the first things DH had trouble with. Now he doesn’t even know what the remote is. It can certainly try our patience as they lose abilities but you handled it well.

trottingalong · September 21

The remote/tv has become a constant source of confusion and frustration.

mwoolley · September 21

My wife has very similar problems. Mid-stage FTD and struggles with her phone, falling for scams, unable to turn on her computer even with one of our favorite passwords to open it, can not get the tv turned on, watches shows over and over, plays reels from Facebook repeatedly. Gets confused about text messages even after she has sent a comment back to the sender. It takes a LOT of patience to guide her through the days and nights.

Had to take away her credit cards due to scams.

BikingOldMan · September 21

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/254095#Comment_254095

wose · September 21

Yep, almost exactly the same here too. My DH keeps switching out remotes in different rooms, cause “ his won’t work.” It’s very frustrating because then all the remotes need to be reprogrammed. He has the TV on for 16 hours a day, so yeah we go thru a lot of batteries. The light not lighting up the remote does not compute anymore. Whoever said “patience is a virtue” surely was not kidding💜

Sunfish47 · September 21

Yep ditto to all of this. My DH can’t operate the remote anymore and sometimes thinks it is his phone, when he can’t find his phone (which is most of the time - cuz he carefully hides it so no one will steal it).
When his phone does occasionally show up, I put it on TikTok for him and he watches the same videos over and over. And can’t use his computer anymore, unless I put it on YouTube so he can watch videos.
No computer ability is a good thing cuz in the early stages we lost money on two new iPhones he bought for an online scammer. That was back in 2021 when me and the adult kids realized his problems were real and got him to the dr and neurologist.
DH also fell for a few less costly credit card scams, and when the statements showed up I had his cards cancelled. He doesn’t understand the concept of credit cards these days and no longer complains that he doesn’t have any.
These days he carries no more than $50 cash in his wallet and he enjoys being the one paying when we go to Burger King. 😊
I raised two toddlers and now I have a senior citizen toddler that shadows me constantly and can’t be left alone.
So far I am able to cope.

M5M · September 21

DH is mostly unable to use the remote and comes to me to help. I did buy a universal remote that lets you program only a limited number of channels….it is called Simpl by OneClick…..go to Simpl.com or to Simpltec.com. It was about $30 and you can program up to 5 channels. There are only 5 channel buttons, an off/on, and volume. It doesn't interface with "recording" or DVDs, but does give him some independence on live TV.

There is also an app specifically for dementia….called Zinnia.com. It has pleasant subjects from 5 minutes to hours of programming. The pace of any feature is very mellow. There are serious subjects that help encourage brushing your teeth for example, to videos of kittens and puppies. You have to have a smart TV to download, a subscription is around $10 a month. There is a free trial.

Also, we recently have been watching a lot of things on YouTube TV, without a subscription, but on our smart TV. DH can follow things like history programs, travel, some documentaries. We avoid anything with danger or violence as that agitates him.

The Clock Stopped

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