I knew what the disease was. It was when old people started to forget everything. Who they were and everything around them, including the people who loved them. I recently learned that the disease also killed. When we were about to watch the film in psychology, I was not aware of how dangerous this disease was and how much it effect everyone.
I did not know that the disease was so horrible, that people forgot how to react to their love ones. There was an elder lady who had the disease and they filmed a scene with her four year old grandson. She kept yelling at him and calling him stupid and telling him to shut up and that she didn't like him. Being only four years old, the boy didn't understand what was happening to his grandmother, but all he could do was yell back and cry. He doesn't understand why his grandmother was being mean to him and that hit me hard.
There was also another old woman, just only in her 50's or 60's who looked about 80 or more years old. She had an advance version of the disease. Her mood always change, she communicated with little language, and didn't know her own strengths. Sometimes she would cry and sometimes she would laugh. She pushed people and touch their faces, but she couldn't communicate through language or used very little of it. Her family visited her and the person they once knew, who could walk and knew who they were, was totally gone.
Almost a year ago, in the spring of 2010, my own grandmother started to show symptoms of forgetting. One day she was driving and was on a curb, but didn't know how she got there. By the time September came, she could no longer support herself and forgot dates and short-term information. The doctors say it is NOT alzheimer's but rather that she is getting older. She will be 91 in June.
Now, after a year of finding out my grandmother doesn't have this terrible disease, she lives in a senior housing corp and she has an aide who comes every other day. She writes everything down on her calender and she constantly needs someone to make sure she takes her pills. She comes over every night for dinner and sometimes a late night movie. During noon time, my older cousin's wife help out since she works in the school system near by. My grandmother still has trouble with dates and calls my mom everyday to know the date and she often calls my mom to remember what's going on that day.
One of the hard parts for me is during dinner. My grandmother will ask me, "How was school today?" or "What are you up to?" and I will answer her, but 5min later she will ask the same question and I will answer again. This usually goes on for about 30min or so at the dinner table. She asks everyone the same question and it does get annoying. Even though it is annoying me, I can only imagine what it is like with someone who has alzheimer's disease.
Even though my grandmother forgets things, we all support her and try to help out. Sometimes I go home with her to her apartment and help my mom bring in her groceries. Sometimes on weekends I drive her to places and help her carry things. But my family and I will always be there for my grandmother because we know how important family is.
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