November 26, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Night Helper.

Ken has fallen four times in the last ten days. Falling is the most common problem with Parkinson's patients but Ken has only fallen twice since he was first diagnosed in the Fall of 2014. Something odd has happened. Now he sleeps with a bed rail. On the Saturday afternoon after his fall, I asked Ken is he thought we needed a night helper, but he said no. By Sunday afternoon he changed his mind. He is fearful of falling and so am I so I called Cindie who owns the company to see if the could find night helpers for us. And she did. Gladys came to work last night and I asked her to sit in the TV room while we slept so she could assist Ken getting up and down. But Ken had a terrible night. He barely slept. He hated having someone watching him as he was going asleep so he has asked me not to have the night sitter watch him from the TV room. Gladys, who was here last night, will not be coming back. In her place tonight is Mary Brown, who I like a lot. And Kashina will work three nights too. We hope we will keep Ken safe. Ken and Kashina thing that Ken will recover quickly from his fall and that soon we will not need a night helper. We will see. In the meantime, I hope to be able to sleep myself. Last night I woke up whenever Ken got up which was about every hour. At the moment, the night sitter will work from 9 to 9. Kashina works from 9 to 4. We should be OK. Ken looks a wreck. His eye is black and swollen and he has an abrasion on his forehead. He hurts all over. We just might take our Christmas card picture right now. The worst part of the falls have been his confidence. And he is weak. But next week we go for an evaluation with a physical therapist. We hope they will take him on as a client. Tomorrow he goes to a therapy to help him with swallowing. He is trying to get better. Ken hopes our night helper will be temporary. But we will see. In the meantime, I hope tonight we both get a decent night sleep, with the help of Mary.