Skip to main content
Like
Create new Glog
previous
next
Email share
20 views | 0 likes | 0 reposts
On May 12, 2008, Helen Nola Walker passed away. She is my grandmother. In August of 2000, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible brain disorder, which creates loss of memory and reasoning. In July of 2000, she moved to Virginia Beach from California to live near us. When she first arrived, she lived independently in a condominium in the back of our neighborhood. I used to go over and visit her all the time. We used to do puzzles in her garage and when we were done, she would mount them on the wall. Sometimes we would paint our nails, watch TV, and have sleepovers. I always looked forward to going over there and spending time with her. A few months later in January of 2001, she moved into our house. She was not as capable of living by herself anymore. The first couple years of her living with us were not so bad. We all loved her company and the love she gave us. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease and she slowly kept getting worse. Sometimes she would mix up our names and call my brother Douglas when his name is Adam. Eventually she came to the point where she would forget who we were. We used to complain about having her live with us when her Alzheimer’s got bad because we could not leave her by herself, which meant that we did not get to go out and do things very often. Some days were worse then others and some days you could not even tell she had this horrible disease. It was like a rollercoaster; you never knew what to expect. The worst part about this disease was that she knew in the beginning that she was slowly losing her memory. She knew that she was sick and that there was nothing she could do about it. Seeing her go through this was the hardest part. One of the best qualities about her is that even when she was going through all of this, she could still crack a joke. She may not have known exactly what she was saying, but she sure could make you laugh. She also never stopped loving. Even if she did not know who we were, we knew that she was inside there somewhere. In May, during her final days, it was hard to look at her. She looked so miserable. She was not eating or drinking and her body was beginning to shut down. I went in to my grandma’s room with my mom one day and she told me to hold my grandma’s hand because she was in pain. She could barely open her eyes and she could not talk, so when I said “Hi”, she just squeezed my hand. I will never forget that moment. She was in pain and the only thing I could do to attempt to make it better was hold her hand. Later that week when she passed away, we were all very upset but we knew that it was for the best. She had gone to a better place where she no longer had to suffer in pain. In that week I think we all realized that all the work that we went through to take care of her for 8 years was worth it and that we would all do it again in a heartbeat. I cannot imagine if she would have had to live this life somewhere where she was not surrounded by people who love her. From the experience of living with my grandmother, I learned to be strong. She has made me so much of what I am today. From the moment I was born, to the day she passed away, she was there for me and she will never be forgotten.
Helen Nola Walker
