Alzheimers, who here is dealing with it in their family?

[cev79]

My mother and I just watched part of the Alzheimer's Project on HBO, great documentary. My gram was just diagnosed with advanced dementia and Alzheimer's. Right now she is responding to meds very well, she's 96. She's able to write us letters, 3 usually each week, with clippings and coupons. Gramp loves the internet so we get emails from him. But we saw what the end road of Alzheimer's is, and it's brutal and horrible and very painful. You watch the person you love become a shell. Then death.
We weren't expecting anything like this because that side of the family has amazing genes and usually makes it to 103 before any type of mental problems begin. My great grandmother was still playing Scrabble and beating people at age 105. My grandfather is going to have to watch the love of his life become a stranger. He's still sharp as a tack, loves to read about physics and loves to google online.
Anyways, it's very painful. You pray it won't happen to your family, and when it does, it's really tough.

 

[scrapper13]

my grandmother had it while i was growing up. she actually had it for close to 20 years which is extremely long for this disease. however the last ten years she didn't know who anyone was and could not speak. very sad to watch and even more sad seeing my mom cry when her own mother didn't know who she was. actually i have a pretty strange story about when she passed. the last week or so she was alive we knew she only had days left. i was still away at college and one night i woke up in the middle of the night at about 130 in the morning. i felt shaken up and like something had happened, but went back to sleep. the next morning i was eating breakfast and i got a call from my dad and he told me they were at the hospital and that my grandma had passed. i asked him what time she had passed and he said about 130...not sure if u are spiritual, but i believe that it had to be some sort of connection that can't be explained.

 

[geoff68]

Both my grandfather and my father had it. Grandfather had it for almost 10 years but they lived a couple hours away so didn't have alot of direct contact. My Dad well trying to sit and eat dinner with the family and him asking who I was kinda hurt. He went very quickly and the only way I could deal with it was, once the speech left and most forms of communication was just take care of the body. I had to understand that my Dad had died and not remember him as what he had becomme but what he was. If you are dealing with this be glad to talk to you anytime to help. This disease is BRUTAL.