You never know how any disease truly affects families until it’s happening to you. We all started seeing signs of Alzheimer’s in my grandpa but didn’t want to admit that he was changing. This man that we all looked up to was turning into someone we didn’t know. He forgot memories, the grandkids’ names, friends’ names. It was okay, as long as he could remember who I was, and that I was his family. Then as time went on, that faded too.
You never know how any disease truly affects families until it’s happening to you. Alzheimer’s started to affect my family several years ago. We all started seeing signs of Alzheimer’s in my grandpa, but didn’t want to admit it yet. My sweet, quiet grandpa was changing. This man that we all looked up to, the glue behind our family, was turning into someone we didn’t know. He would start to forget memories, the grandkids’ names, and other friends’ names. It was okay, as long as he could remember who I was, and that I was his family. Then as time went on, that faded too.
We would go see him and he would have no idea who we were or why we would even bother visiting him. He would get frustrated sometimes that we were there. We just wanted to see the grandpa that we knew and loved, but that person was no longer there. We would still go to visit, some days he would tolerate us and some days he didn’t want to see us. As years went on, we would watch the grandpa we once knew slowly disappear.
Not long after my grandpa passed away, my grandma was diagnosed with dementia. My grandma loves her grandkids; we are her world. She is so proud of every one of us and she has a lot of them to be proud of – over 20 grandkids that all love and adore her. It is like we are starting this heart wrenching journey all over again.
She will sit there and tell us the same story over and over again, but all we can do is enjoy it. At least she still smiles when she sees us. She still knows who we are and how much we mean to her. We will walk around with her and she stops to tell everyone that we are her grandkids, that we are precious and the best looking kids she has ever seen. She makes sure that we never leave without a kiss and she tells us how much she loves us.
This is why I walk in the Bloomington-Normal Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I walk in the hopes that we can find a cure and I won’t have to watch any more grandparents, parents, sisters or brothers forget me or the times we shared. I walk to raise awareness in the hopes that someday we won’t have to watch our loved ones disappear before our eyes.
Volunteers needed for Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Walk to End Alzheimer’s would not be possible without the support of our fantastic volunteers. We count on the invaluable contribution of time and energy of our dedicated volunteers to make the event a success. Sign up today and let us know how you’d like to help!
http://www.optimumseniorcare.com/services/alzheimerscare.php