10/7/12
Imagine if you had a dreadful disease that took away your memory and you could no longer remember familiar people, places or events. This is what is happening to my Grandma. She has been diagnosed with vascular dementia and it has been detrimental to her life and her mind, and I hate to think about what it will do to her in the future. She is 80 years old and is still able to live alone, however her son lives across the road from her. Other than having dementia, she is a healthy person. She has always been a caring and loving person that has always taken care of others. Dementia has drastically changed her life. She has always been very caring and supportive toward all of her family. She babysat all 4 of her grandchildren when we were younger. She would always cook the best eggs and homemade biscuits for breakfast. We would look forward to her breakfast every day. She picked all of us up from school almost every day. Now she does not hardly drive anymore for fear she might get lost because she doesn’t remember how to get to all the places she used to could because of her disease. She would always cook her delicious fried chicken, rice and a scrumptious homemade chocolate cake for every family member’s birthdays. It breaks my heart to think that now she does not even remember our birthdays. Dementia is detrimental to her mind. Our family did not realize anything was wrong, until one day she went to her doctor, but could not find his office. She said she stopped at a couple offices, but could not find the right one. Luckily she made it back home. She sometimes calls me by my cousin’s name and cannot remember the names of people that she used to know well. She used to also keep books for my Granddad’s fertilizer business, but now she is no longer able to even balance her check book. She misplaces items, such as her wallet, car keys, and checkbook, daily. I am afraid to imagine how this disease will slowly destroy my grandma as it