How Alzheimer's Disease Changed My Family's Life

Growing up, I witnessed the preliminary stages of Alzheimer’s with my mother’s father and how it became progressively worse. My grandfather developed easy temper episodes; he tended to forget current memories, he would ask who my mother is, and he also brought up older family members that died and called my family members by those names. This disease worsened, and I began to understand the effect it has on my mother and her siblings; especially, my mother because she adored and looked up to her father, and now, he can’t recollect who she is. This disease worsened, and I began to understand the effect it has on my mother and her siblings; this disease changed who I was forced to know as my granddad versus how others knew and remembered him. Particularly, the stories told about him were hard to place with my grandfather’s rougher personality as his Alzheimer’s, worsened. Because of this, my family and I grew accustomed to several techniques that we incorporate when talking to my grandfather or caring for him to make sure he is calm. I continue using this knowledge to educate others through educational assignments on what Alzheimer’s disease is and how it can affect your loved ones and the people around them.

Being able to witness the initial signs of Alzheimer’s with my grandfather meant that I saw how his ability to produce memories became worse; I firsthand saw how fast I was losing my grandfather and how fast he was losing himself. When I became older, I recognized what my mother felt when her father couldn’t recognize her voice on phone calls or when my aunt would cry because my grandfather forgot how to do basic motor skills. I felt the emotion on my mother’s face when the person she adored and looked up to, forgot who she was. This disease made me realize at a young age that I would never know my grandpa as how people describe him because I grew up as his ability to form memories got worse; as I was growing up, he was feeling more irritable and worse. My mother continuously describes my grandfather as the most ambitious and charming person to exist, but I am unable to know my grandfather as the person he used to be. Throughout my childhood, I knew my grandfather as mischievous and grave and there were times when I was allowed to joke with him; as he got worse, I couldn’t joke around with him or even talk to him because of how irritable and confused he would become. I soon realized that my grandfather won’t remember my graduation or acceptance into college; my grandfather can’t help me navigate through life or offer me advice on medical school. Alzheimer's disease changed my life by taking away one of the most important people to my mother and her siblings; the inability to gather new memories and recollect motor skills forced my family to come to terms with the idea that my grandfather won't remember to do anything so far and he doesn't have left to live before he gets increasingly worse.

During the different stages of Alzheimer’s, there have been times when I observe when my grandfather is calm and when he is irritable and angry. There were times when my mother asked me to watch my grandfather for short periods; during those times, I observed times when he was confused about where he was, who I was, and whether dead family members were still alive or not. When my grandfather would forget where he was or who I was, I began to adopt certain ways to care and speak to him. If my grandfather asked who my mother was and who my parents were, I would tell him the name of my mother and how she is his daughter and then I would explain who my parents were. In times when my grandfather was more irritable, I would calm him down by telling stories about my mom as a child which would normally cause him to listen. In certain circumstances, I would have to lock the doors that lead outside because my grandfather would walk outside and forget where he was. These techniques are something that my family had to quickly get used to and I realized that it hurt my aunt, uncle, and mother when they had to help my grandfather do the majority of his tasks. The times when my grandfather would forget about the stairs and injure himself, I knew that he would need someone to help him; I knew that when he got concussions or broke his arm because of falling down these stairs my grandfather is slowly dissipating. This helped me learn that I need to help my grandfather more and offer my shoulder to my mother and her siblings to talk about their feelings; I know that they don’t share their feelings with my siblings and cousins because they want to seem strong, but I know that sometimes my mother or aunt just wanted to cry and talk to someone because they are losing their father. If anything, this disease has taught me to be there for those who have this disability and offer a shoulder in times of need because watching your loved one mentally deteriorate is hard and sad.

With old age, one in four American residents is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Hearing the news that your mother, father, aunt, uncle, or grandparents are diagnosed with a cognitive disease is devastating; many families have to cherish the moments they had with their loved ones while others have to learn how to speak and treat those who are diagnosed with this disease. I learned about this disease through school and experience which helped me understand what my grandfather is going through. Although, others might not have the ability to learn about the effects of Alzheimer’s till the late stages of it. Because of this problem, I often incorporate school assignments and my knowledge of Alzheimer’s to bring awareness to the reality of this disease. For instance, in my Entrepreneurship Honors class, one of my semester assignments involved creating a business or nonprofit that offers a service or good; I chose to create a nonprofit organization that offers free sessions to discuss how Alzheimer’s affects those around the one diagnosed with it. This nonprofit organization would offer free sessions, brochures, social media ads, and free advice on this specific disease; when presenting the project, I went into detail about why I started to choose to start this nonprofit and what is Alzheimer’s disease. I received feedback from my teachers and peers about how they didn’t know the reality of this disease. In the same sense, just talking to my friends and community about my grandfather allows me to bring attention to the public about what Alzheimer’s is. In another instance, I use social media to post informational postings that offer more insight into the reality of Alzheimer’s and how a family should understand it. Some of these postings come from other social media accounts that offer more specific information on this cognitive disease. Since more of the newer generation uses social media more, I tend to use this platform more because I know many people gain their information from social media platforms and can easily send posts to their friends.

Furthermore, I have always loved my grandfather, but Alzheimer’s disease took away the chance for me to know the person that everyone knows him as; as a growing girl, I was robbed of a grandfather who would see the achievements of my cousins and me, a grandfather who would attend my events as I learn how to navigate the real world. This disease changed the person who my mother looked up to and valued; it changed my life by making me watch how my grandfather is slowly deteriorating and forgetting who everyone is. Which also caused me to adopt specific procedures when met with the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Certain methods involve responding to my grandfather, caring for him in times of distress, and controlling him when he is most harsh. These simple ways are a responsibility that my cousins, siblings, uncles, aunts, and I had to know when seeing my grandfather. It pushed me to use different environments and sources to spread awareness and attention to the reality of Alzheimer’s. Using social media, I can appeal to the younger generations who can easily send the information to their friends and family. While using educational resources, I can appeal to teachers who may have loved ones who are newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and need advice. I use my past and previous experience with Alzheimer’s to help others navigate through the reality of this cognitive disease.