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December 2008 
I've Lost A Stranger!!!
Posted on Jun 12th, 2007
by 
MaNnUzZ
MaNnUzZ
I don't care if nobody reads this story. I just want to share it. That way i can cope with these emotions that i have right now. Its a story about my grandmother who became a complete stranger.
Five days ago my grandmother died. She had Alzheimer. For ten long years she battled this disease. But with no such luck.
It was so strange. I was 9 years old when we first noticed the changes. She had trouble remembering our names, she had trouble remembering where she put certain things. Sometimes she didn't even knew here own name. Which, for me, was very scary. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't my grandmother anymore.
According to the doctor she had Alzheimer. It means that parts of your brain are dying. It al happend so quickly. She made habits of somethings like scratching on her head or saying things a thousand times a day. In the end she just didn't know who we where, we where complete strangers to her. Its very hard for a 11 year old (some time had passed) to talk with your grandmother and she doesn't recognize you or others. How funny it may sound: she always wanted to get back to her parents. They died even before my mother was born.
It got from bad to worse. My grandfather was there for her everyday to take care of her. She didn't know how to cook, do the dishes, do the laundry, take a shower. She forgot al about it. But my grandfather was there to help her.
Six years long he took care of her. But he got older too and it was just too much. So he and my parents decided that it was time for my grandmother to go to a nursing home. Of course my grandfather objected at first but he noticed that it was the best thing to do. My grandmother began to slip away. She was but a shade of the strong woman she once was. Everytime i looked at here a saw a different woman.
I got older too and as time goes by i accepted the fact that this disease could not been cured. Six months after she went to the nursing home, she had a stroke. A big one! She had lost the ability to speak. She also lost the abilty to walk for a short periode. After a while she could speak a few words, but not full sentences. For two years her condition stayed the same. But no matter what happend we were there for her every day. My grandfater visited her everyday, which was uncommon in the nursing home. My grandmother was the only person in the whole building who got visitors every day.
Half year ago things started to get worse. At some points she fogot the swollow. The nurses or a member of our family could feed her, but she didn't swollow her food. Which was a problem. Just 2 weeks ago she couldn't sit in a chair anymore. She layed on a bed. She didn't drink, she didn't eat, she did nothing but breathing very heavy. I visisted every day. It hurts so much to see your grandmother, the one you love so much, lay on a bed and suffer. She had pain every day. She could not tell us that but we saw the look on her face.
She died the 7th of june. Its better for her because now she don't have to fight the Alzheimer. But its a big loss for us. She was such a remarkeble strong woman. I thought she'd lived to be a hundred years old. Unfortunately she only reached the age of 81.
If you read this story i would like to thank you for listening to me. I'm sure there are a lot of other people whoose familiymember has Alzheimer, or lost someone with this disease. All i want to say to them is: Don't let go the memory of how these people were before they got Alzheimer.
Greetzz,
Mandy
"In loving memory of
My Grandmother Rika"
(Vechten hoeft niet meer, rust nu maar uit)
Five days ago my grandmother died. She had Alzheimer. For ten long years she battled this disease. But with no such luck.
It was so strange. I was 9 years old when we first noticed the changes. She had trouble remembering our names, she had trouble remembering where she put certain things. Sometimes she didn't even knew here own name. Which, for me, was very scary. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't my grandmother anymore.
According to the doctor she had Alzheimer. It means that parts of your brain are dying. It al happend so quickly. She made habits of somethings like scratching on her head or saying things a thousand times a day. In the end she just didn't know who we where, we where complete strangers to her. Its very hard for a 11 year old (some time had passed) to talk with your grandmother and she doesn't recognize you or others. How funny it may sound: she always wanted to get back to her parents. They died even before my mother was born.
It got from bad to worse. My grandfather was there for her everyday to take care of her. She didn't know how to cook, do the dishes, do the laundry, take a shower. She forgot al about it. But my grandfather was there to help her.
Six years long he took care of her. But he got older too and it was just too much. So he and my parents decided that it was time for my grandmother to go to a nursing home. Of course my grandfather objected at first but he noticed that it was the best thing to do. My grandmother began to slip away. She was but a shade of the strong woman she once was. Everytime i looked at here a saw a different woman.
I got older too and as time goes by i accepted the fact that this disease could not been cured. Six months after she went to the nursing home, she had a stroke. A big one! She had lost the ability to speak. She also lost the abilty to walk for a short periode. After a while she could speak a few words, but not full sentences. For two years her condition stayed the same. But no matter what happend we were there for her every day. My grandfater visited her everyday, which was uncommon in the nursing home. My grandmother was the only person in the whole building who got visitors every day.
Half year ago things started to get worse. At some points she fogot the swollow. The nurses or a member of our family could feed her, but she didn't swollow her food. Which was a problem. Just 2 weeks ago she couldn't sit in a chair anymore. She layed on a bed. She didn't drink, she didn't eat, she did nothing but breathing very heavy. I visisted every day. It hurts so much to see your grandmother, the one you love so much, lay on a bed and suffer. She had pain every day. She could not tell us that but we saw the look on her face.
She died the 7th of june. Its better for her because now she don't have to fight the Alzheimer. But its a big loss for us. She was such a remarkeble strong woman. I thought she'd lived to be a hundred years old. Unfortunately she only reached the age of 81.
If you read this story i would like to thank you for listening to me. I'm sure there are a lot of other people whoose familiymember has Alzheimer, or lost someone with this disease. All i want to say to them is: Don't let go the memory of how these people were before they got Alzheimer.
Greetzz,
Mandy
"In loving memory of
My Grandmother Rika"
(Vechten hoeft niet meer, rust nu maar uit)
Access: Public
Thankyou for sharing Mandy, much love.