Alzheimer’s - Remember Not To Forget #Alzheimers #Family #Remembernottoforget

“Everyone with a brain is at risk for Alzheimer’s.”

She would tell us made up stories of adventure with her soft, but story-telling voice. She had a fun playroom filled with games like Chinese Checkers and Dominoes, a Rubik’s cube, Barrel o Monkey’s, GI Joe’s, a life-like miniature kitchen set with all the utensils. She once talked to our pet Shih-tzu’s tail mistaking it for his head and giggled at herself. She had a basement closet that smelled of mothballs and must, and it was heavenly. She set her Sunday dinner table with her best dishes and plastic over her table cloth. She walked us to the church she pastored next door and we picked blackberries along the way. She let us roll in the soft green mossy Vermont grass and build forts in her backyard. She sat on the floor and played with us and read Dr. Seuss’ “Hop on Pop.” She had a stack of scrap paper she had torn into quarters herself setting next to her telephone to take a message. She took me with her on a once in a lifetime trip to Indonesia and Australia when I was 15. She had the most beautiful cursive handwriting and in every birthday card she signed with a bible verse. She lived 9 hours away but when she visited she would organize a drawer, fold laundry, or wipe down a baseboard.

That was my Gram. She was soft spoken, gentle hearted, giving, and kind.

And then she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

At first, she became forgetful and confused. As the disease progressed, she frightened if she saw her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t recognize that elderly woman she saw. She lost the ability to write or drive. She lost the ability to dress herself or use the bathroom on her own. She lost the ability to feed herself or walk without assistance. And I don’t mean, she shouldn’t feed herself, I mean, she cannot do it. She is unable to use a fork or spoon and scoop food to feed herself. She doesn’t recognize her family members, ever. So they call her Ms. Ruth, instead of “mom” or “Grandma.” She has to be monitored and cared for 24 hours a day. She is now an agitated, disgruntled shell of a woman in a constant state of disorientation and bewilderment. Her soul, her personality, is gone.

A few weeks ago my Gram fractured her hip. She required surgery, which had its risks due to her age, mental health, and ability to recover and rehab successfully. I visited after the surgery with my children. It really hit me how Alzheimer’s has effected her entire world. I’m over here living my life, knowing only tid bits of what my mom and her siblings have to worry about and make decisions about daily. Seeing my grandmother without even a hint of a twinkle behind those eyes was humbling, infuriating, enlightening.

The disease is disgusting. It takes a persons spirit. Mind. Independence. Understanding. Memories. Recognition. Pride. It makes me so angry that Gram’s mind is lost in an abyss of disarray and turbulence. I can’t fathom the emotions my mom and her sisters and brother experience as they watch the progression. Fear. Anxiety. Sadness. Regret. Guilt. Concern. Exhaustion. A roller coaster and myriad of feelings. In the minuscule, minute glimpse of what I’ve seen I feel such empathy and heartbreak.

I’ve been quiet (again) on my blog for a while, but I’ve needed a place to write down my thoughts on this. There are so many issues that matter, and we can’t solve them all. But there must be some way to find a cure or prevent or help the Alzheimer’s cause. Show extra patience with the elderly man in the grocery store, lend a hand when the confused grandma can’t find her car in the parking lot, be kind and compassionate to the adult children who are dealing with a parent with Alzheimer’s.

Let’s remember not to forget this disease. It’s a disease that cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed (yet!). “Everyone with a brain is at risk for Alzheimer’s.”
http://www.alz.org/facts/overview.asp