In 1996, After my grandpa had a stroke, we realized that my grandma's forgetfulness was more than what we had first thought. You see, my grandpa was covering for her and trying his best to conceal the fact that she had alzheimer's disease. He didn't want to face up to the realization that he was losing her and that she was gradually fading away. Because of my grandpa's massive stroke, he was no longer able to care for my grandma and that's when my parents and I understood the seriousness of all this. As time went on, my grandparents passed away and here's the thing that gets me....We lost him once, but we lost her twice.
Fast forward about to 2008 and my grandma on my mom's side develops azheimer's which was a real blow for the family. So we lose her to alzheimer's in 2008 and to cancer in 2012.
Individuals with alzheimer's disease suffer confusion , sadness and a wide range of unhealthy emotions. The family suffers and hearts are broken. Here's my point, nobody should have to lose their loved ones twice. I don't care what the stats may say, all I know is that this condition appears to be on the rise and there's hardly anybody that hasn't been impacted in some way....Maybe a parent, grandparent, friend, church member, etc.
If you know a family that is suffering from the impact of alzheimher's disease, show them some love and reach out in anyway you can to show them you care. We also have to push the science community for more research and greater awareness so that this condition will hopefully be but only a memory that we all CHOOSE to FORGET.
Thanks for sharing your story. Alzheimer's is awful.