Why I Walk… Anne’s Story – Alzheimer’s
I Walk to End Alzheimer’s because of my dad, who is in the first stage of Alzheimer’s. My dad was only 65 when diagnosed. At home, we didn’t really notice anything wrong because he always did his normal routine, but as time went on, people at work began noticing that he was not being himself. One day at work, he just suddenly couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do for his job.
I Walk to End Alzheimer’s because of my dad, who is in the first stage of Alzheimer’s. My dad was only 65 when diagnosed. At home, we didn’t really notice anything wrong because he always did his normal routine, but as time went on, people at work began noticing that he was not being himself. One day at work, he just suddenly couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do for his job, and that had never been an issue before. His work had to call and talk to my mom after it happened a few times. Then when my dad was diagnosed, his employers were nice enough to do a layoff time leading up to the date that he could retire from their business.
There are times he forgets and gets upset; never really knowing if it is something he truly forgot or just the dementia. When my dad starts talking about the past, I let him. When he starts to remember something, I don’t say if it was from yesterday or from way back when, I just let him remember. Even if he repeats things, I still listen. I usually won’t stop him unless he is making himself upset. I see he still wants to do normal things, like mow my lawn, because it’s one thing he has not forgotten how to do. I’ve watched him struggle with other everyday tasks like reading, and now he doesn’t even read the paper anymore like he used to do.
He was always there for me when I needed him. It kills me to see him lose his temper so easily, when I know he was always pretty hard to aggravate. My girls now don’t even know how to act around their grandpa because they don’t know how he’ll react. They usually try to base it off the way he is acting. If he seems to be in relatively good mood, then my girls will play along with their grandpa. Yet, there are times he starts out in a good mood, and then soon turns upset. This is why we need to find a cure. Grandkids shouldn’t have to worry about how to act around their grandparents. They should always be ready to go hang with them and have fun. This is the reason why, back in February of 2015, my oldest daughter asked her volleyball coach to do an Alzheimer’s fundraiser with the team. They were able to donate the money they raised to two Alzheimer’s homes in Effingham, IL. They were also awarded for being the first grade school by IESA to do an Alzheimer’s fundraiser game. We do what we can in my family to help the cause.
Alzheimer’s disease is a topic that most people don’t want to talk about. My dad didn’t want us telling other people that he had dementia because he didn’t want them to treat him differently or walk on eggshells around him. I think that is part of the reason why it’s so hard to explain to people what it feels like to watch a person you love lose a part of themselves.
I participate in the Bloomington-Normal Walk to End Alzheimer’s because I don’t want someone else to go through what I have gone through. We need to find a cure so the past doesn’t get lost forever. We will never stop walking. We will walk until a cure is found. This is Why I Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
– Anne Kuhl
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