9:11 AM Sun, Sep 07, 2008 | Permalink
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It is a great pleasure to see more $310,000 dollars raised at Sunday's Memory Walk. This annual event to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer's research is near and dear to my heart.
I lost my grandmother to the disease three years ago, Just two weeks before I started my job at WHAS 11. She had the disease for only five years before she passed away. It was swift and she did not know who I was by her third year into the disease. My Nana was only 65 years old when she died. It was devastating to me on so many levels. For one, she raised me and I looked at her more as a mother than a grandmother.
For those out there coping with the emotional traumas associated with having a relative living with Alzheimer's disease, I sincerely send you my best regards. I know how hard it can be to sit beside someone you once had conversations with, held in your arms, and laughed with...only to now have them look at you like a stranger. It is one of the worst kinds of pain. For me, it felt like I began mourning the loss of my Nana years before her passing. It is a strange feeling to mourn someone that is still very much alive even though their mind is not the same.
Right before my Nana passed away, she became bedridden and lost her ability to speak and move without help. I walked to her bedside one cold January evening and for the first time in those several years of being a stranger to my Nana, she looked at me with recognition. She moved her mouth to form what sounded like the beginning of my name. "Meh..." She held my hand. It was the first physical contact I had with her in years. I know now, she was saying good-bye.
Less than a month later, my Nana passed away from complications from Alzheimer's. I found out I was pregnant with my son Aaron one week after she died. Certainly the news of a new baby helped me cope with my loss.
I am writing this blog to let those out there dealing with Alzheimer's that you are not alone. It is difficult, frustrating, and one of the most challenging diseases to talk to others about. Especially people that have not been through it.
So, from me, a supporter of the Alzheimer's Association, thank you for your participation in the Memory Walk and please try to participate next year if you did not get the chance. There are new drugs being tested and research is ongoing. Every dollar raised helps someone living with Alzheimer's potentially get one more important moment with their family. Perhaps a Christmas, wedding, or birth of a grandchild. Most of all, this research could allow them to maintain their own memories. Something we should all be grateful for every day.
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