My grandpa moved into Assisted Living with my grandma following a round of falls. She was officially diagnosed with Alzeheimers in September 2012 and has had a series of brain injuries that have caused her cognitive decline to plummet. The entire process has been difficult and sad, but I have a strong, loving family who have been an integral part of this process.
My grandpa said that the hardest thing to do was to make the phone call at 2am for the nursing staff to officially place my grandma in the Alzheimer's unit full time. He knew once she went in, she would not ever come out. However, we love her. There are these sweet moments when she loves and recognizes us. She lets me kiss her on the cheek and my aunt sings to her. It seems to calm her down. There was this moment last weekend where we dyed my grandma's hair. As she started to get ansy, we began singing Bible songs. Little kid songs she taught for years and years about how everyone in the world is loved by God. She stopped and tried to sing along. Somewhere, deep inside her, she knew the song.
We moved my grandparents out of their house without the anticipation of ever returning. It was a shock to everyone, no matter how much you know it will come. With my grandma living in her own room in assisted living, my grandpa moved back home. It was sort of a familiar, sweet reunion. Being there, for whatever time we have left is good.
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| Here are the name plaques of every grandchild in the family. My grandpa handcrafted a beautiful wooden bassinet before the oldest was born. This has been passed through the family. |
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