Observing a Life with Alzheimer's

Many people can sit and contemplate about this deadly disease. They can say it makes people forget things, but it’s more complex than that. This disease takes your mind slowly. Almost as if it just creeps up on you without your acknowledge of it. My grandpa is an 87 year old, 5 feet tall, grey haired man who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago. When I first noticed it, his case was mild. He would get names mixed up with different faces, misplace things around the house, tell the same story over again, or tell you something and five minutes later tell you the same thing. As the years went on he got worse, it was a hard concept to be able to accept. It took a toll on everyone at first.

It was just yesterday him and my grandma came over for dinner. They ate with us and had only been over for about 20 minutes and the questions had begun. Every five minutes he would ask where the keys were and if it was time to go. My grandma gets frustrated and annoyed at times, but she would just reply with a simple not yet and ignore him. As I watched him, he just sat there in the chair and played with his fingers as he watched everyone else’s actions. He makes this quiet, but apparent mumbling noise constantly. His appetite is weak because he always thinks he is full.

            The best thing to do is to get him smiling and talking so he forgets to ask questions. He gets angry at times so if you blame something on him he’ll frown and use vulgar language. You have to use humor out of it because there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s something we’ve learned to accept it’s a part of life that we can’t control. Today, just like any other day is a day of memory loss for Gus. He continues to tell people he is 85 years old and how he was the best Whirlpool checker for 31 years. The hardest part dealing with this situation is he doesn’t know my name, or that I’m his granddaughter. However, I have to tell myself to enjoy what’s still there of him and his mind before it’s too late.