World Alzheimer's Day 2025
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It began with anger directed toward her daughter in law. Her resentment over no longer being able to cook was palpable. The fact that she attempted to fry eggs in Windex was neither here nor there. She saw her control slipping away and the tension was tangible.
Then there came a time when she would take off all of her clothes and go running down her lengthy driveway. The reasons behind this behavior remain lost to me except that it is part of the Alzheimer's dementia course. However, she generated interest in the little old guy up the dirt road and my uncle had to threaten him to keep him away.
The day they cut off her hair was particularly traumatic for me personally. Now then, I understand that it is much easier to maintain a coiffure which is short, the long luxuriant flowing white locks of my grandmother constituted "her look" for me personally and the short hair — while tasteful and tidy just made the situation worse in my mind.
She reached a point where she had to be tied to her chair to keep her from wandering off and this exacerbated the symptoms greatly in my opinion. She was not bound in complicated knots but she could not untie them though she tried all day. She lost her verbal skills at this point in time. She also continued to resent the authority my aunt continually lorded over her and I had thoughts of taking her out of the picture permanently.
I also resented the fact that the uncle and aunt felt they were due "days off" from caring for her which I viewed as shirking what was their responsibility. After all, they had moved into her house of their own accord. They did not seem want to assume the responsibilities which went with it. Perhaps it was all purely coping mechanism and I am reticent to affix blame in this matter. All I could do was gnash my teeth and bear it.
The end stage was vegetative whereby she no longer was aware she existed. She was maintained in a cot in the dining room and my mother took a turn watching over her and the stress caused her to pick up cigarettes again. Newport cigarettes. It was a shame that this had to happen and it was just more upset for me in the evolving events.
Then one day my Aunt broke my grandmother's leg by handling her too roughly as far as I am concerned. I was going to shoot her after that but was admonished by my parents to try and let it go. My father in particular was angered by this occurrence and we felt the it was further abandonment of responsibility and failure to treat my grandma with love and kindness. My stupid uncle couldn't do anything in the way of corrective advisement because he was totally incompetent in general. I am left believing that he thought it to be okay that his wife had broken his mother's leg.
My beloved Ida passed away on October 20, 1985 in the afternoon. I was there with my parents, my cousin Regina, and my aunt and uncle. It was indeed the saddest thing I had witnessed up to that point in my life. All that I wanted to do was beyond my scope and it remains a difficult episode from the annals of my life.
Today is World Alzheimer’s Day.
It is observed each September 21 annually.
The day is about creating awareness of Alzheimer’s dementia because it is among the most prevalent forms of dementia. It is a time to voice the need for finding new ways to fight the ravages of the disease and it's effect.
So I hope that you never find yourself with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's dementia. If you do you have my complete sympathy. I still cry over the way I lost my grandma and the things that happened to her along her journey ...