Spitting Again

We've almost given up the war against spitting. It's gotten so bad that we pick our battles. One of the lines is when Dad spits so much that the slimes the entertainment center 4 feet away from his chair. My son called me at work one day saying that the home health aide was treating Dad like a child. Dad was spitting, and the aide had turned off the TV. She wouldn't let him watch again until he quit spitting. We had given her the Ok to try to see if it would curb the spitting. Not much luck.

Sometimes we can get him to spit into a tissue. However, what he does with the used tissue is a whole other problem. He was spitting into his napkin at the table and leaving it for the person who cleared the table to pick up his digusting mess. We're trying to get him to put it into a bag hanging on the back of the chair. Limited success.

Used tissues sometimes make it into the trashcan sitting next to his chair in the living area. Most of the time, they just fall around the can.

"They fall on the floor. That's what they do." As if he has no control over where he drops them.
Tonight, my usually patient husband lost it. He staying home with Dad while the rest of us went to the Christmas Eve service. While my husband was emptying the dishwasher, Dad started spitting on the floor. My husband ended up fussing at Dad just like Dad was a small child. Sometimes that is the only way to get through.

But you feel so bad--treating an "adult" like a toddler. We have to realize that in many ways, Dad is a toddler. The hardest part is that instead of learning from experience, it seems to get worse.