The face of Alzheimer's

This is a collection of photographs I have taken of my grandmother since the beginning of this year. You can see the effects of Alzheimer's. The pictures are in chronological order.

Up and Down and all Around....

Last week, grandpa Jim was yelling that he didn't feel good. I went to him and asked what was wrong.

 His reply..."I haven't eaten in three days!"

Now the first thing that ran thru my mind was ...."If you haven't eaten in three days then who is the grumpy old man sitting at the kitchen table every morning at 7am, demanding 2 eggs over-easy, 1 sausage patty and HOT hot chocolate?" 

I bit my tongue and reassured him that he had eaten and that I would be glad to fix him something to eat right now if he was hungry. He was appeased with a PB&J (his sandwich of choice).

Fast forward a day.... he was upset because in his mind his car had been stolen. In reality is was taken away from him because he is not safe behind the wheel. 

Tonight, I made a nice dinner of tilapia, pasta and veggies. Normally he likes this meal. Tonight he was upset because I didn't make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Now this is countered by him telling me...."that little girl (Rosie) is such a pistol. I just love to watch her run."

and " You know, you do such a good job for me and Lorine. I just don't know how you do it all."

It is like being on a carousel...Up and Down and all Around.

What I do...

Alzheimers disease is defined as a progressive and irreversible mental deterioration. It often begins with intermittent states of mental confusion, disorientation, and loss of recent memory. Subsequently, it progresses to severe impairment in all realms of thinking, memory, language, and communication. 

I have worked in healthcare for 18 years, first as a nursing assistant and now as a nurse. For the most part I have worked in geriatrics, specializing in Alzheimer's and Memory Loss. I started out working in nursing homes because it was a decent job. I soon discovered that I have a special place in my heart for elderly and particularly for those suffering with this disease.  I went back to school and earned my nursing license and continued to work with in the geriatric field.  

Now I live with it .....or to be more precise...I live with my grandparents who suffer with  Alzheimer's. It is a daily roller coaster ride. My grandmother is no longer ambulatory and requires everything to be done for her. She can be sweet and kissing you on the cheek one moment and trying to hit you the next.  She has the occasional lucid moment and can tell you if she is hungry or cold. She rarely recognizes anyone. But occasionally she will smile when she looks at my grandpa. I have captured a few moments on film of her with Rosie, coloring and smiling. My grandfather suffers from short-term memory loss. He struggles to remember the simple things, like the day of the week. He hides things and then tells me they must have been stolen. He struggles with his loss of control of his surrounds and copes with this by being very demanding. We have settled into a fairly simple routine and as long as that routine is in place, all is good. 


People have asked me "how do you do it?" My response is that I don't know how not to do it. It is my nature, it is part of who I am, it is what I do.