My grandma is dying. She has been suffering from Alzheimer's since 2007. She went into a nursing home about 2 years ago, and she has gotten progressively worse since then. I understand why she had to go, my mom couldn't take care of her by herself to keep her at home. She was there every day and night to make sure that my grandma was safe, and eating and not doing anything she shouldn't be doing. My parents couldn't do anything together, with out my grandma, and they couldn't pay someone to be there 24/7 so they had to put her in there. Sh had fallen a couple times, and my mom is a tiny woman who couldn't lift her to get her back up. It was not a good situation.
Now my grandma has lost 20 pounds in the last 2 weeks, b/c she can't eat with out getting choked. And the nurses said that when she gets choked on her pureed food, it goes into her lungs, and she might get pneumonia, so they can't have that happen.
Anyway, now she hasn't eaten in the past 3 days. She is basically just sleeping, and that's it. My mom has been with her at the nursing home for 12+ hours every day, just sitting there while she sleeps. I guess one of my cousins came by today, and was reading to her and singing her hymns. My mom said it would have been nice of her to do that when my grandma was coherent enough to enjoy it, b/c she would have really liked the hymns.
I am just really sad guys. I love my grandma so much, I used to spend all my summer days on her farm and she would always take me with her to feed the baby cows and chickens and she always had puppies and kittens. It was the best. It's also hard, b/c i hate that I am always going to remember her like this, not who she actually was, which was a strong farming woman, who was an awesome cook, and was able to do anything, but as basically a vegetable.
I'm also so sad for my mom, I know she is comforted at least a little, that my grandma's struggle is almost over, b/c she hates seeing her like this also.... but losing her mom is going to be so hard on her. She was so close with both of her parents, ans my grandpa has been gone for 15 years now...
i am just so so so sad about all of it.
sorry to be a debbie downer. I just needed to tell some one...
Thank you all for your condolences. I haven't had anyone close to me pass away since I was a young teenager, and it's more traumatic to me as an adult it seems like. Alzheimer's is the fucking worst disease ever. I would venture to say it's worse than cancer, and I hate cancer.
I'm sorry, Sake. You shouldn't worry about being a debbie downer; everyone needs to process when a family member is dying.
Alzheimer's is so shitty because it takes everything away from a person one piece at a time. But I bet as time passes you will remember your grandma the way you described her. She spent most of her life being that awesome person, that's what's important.
My heart breaks for you and I'm sorry you are going through this. My only living grandfather passed away a few years back and it was hard for me to see him like that. I think what helped was clinging to my family members for support during that difficult time. You are in my prayers.
My heart breaks for you and I'm sorry you are going through this. My only living grandfather passed away a few years back and it was hard for me to see him like that. I think what helped was clinging to my family members for support during that difficult time. You are in my prayers.
I'm so sorry. Alzheimer's is horrible, and watching someone go through it is horrible too. I hope that with time your memories of her as she really was will outweigh the memories of what this disease turned her into.
It really sucks because I lost my paternal grandfather to Alzheimer's when I was 16, and that was the last death in my family, and now it's happening again, on my moms side, and it's almost exactly the same. I have so few memories of my grandpa though. Before he got sick, that it wasn't as hard. I loved him, obviously, but I only remember maybe 3 years of who he actually was, bc he was dealing with dementia for almost 9 years before he passed.... I just really hope this doesn't happen to my parents. I don't think I am emotionally stable enough for that...