Have you had a family member with alzheimers

My Gram had this delibitating disease. She would have lapses of memory. I remember one time in particular when I brought my four children to visit her in the nursing home for Halloween. Gram was sitting in her recliner, my aunts were sitting in the chairs on the opposite side of the small room. My children stood beside Gram, my youngest son was hold Gram's hand and patting it gently. My aunts told Gram to give the kids some of her circus peanuts. In a childlike voice my Grandmother said they were hers and she didn't want to share them. After she was told that she would be given more she reluctantly placed one circus peanut in each of the kids bags. Suddenly, a smile came across my Grandmother's face. She looked at my son and said, "I know you. You are my Michael. You have always been careful not to step on Grammy's tubes (she was on oxygen)." There she was. She made an appearance for us. My beloved Grandmother. The kids all gave her a kiss and a hug. I held my hug for as long as I could. I kissed her soft cheek ever so gently. It was our last time to see her.

I don't have a family member with Alzheimers, but have taken care of several patients with different kinds of memory deficits. That's the best way I can put it without divulging any kind of privacy. It is hard to take care of someone with Alzheimers. Family members must be heartbroken when this occurs.

I can't imagine anything more heartbreaking than having my parent not know who I am, or not knowing who my children are. I have never had Alzheimers touch my life personally, but like you, I have seen people afflicted with this in nursing homes. I am glad I do not work with these wonderful people as a profession because I would have a hard time with it emotionally.

Unfortunately, my MIL was diagnosed as having early signs of Alzheimer's. She is a wonderful woman, and I can't even think about what the future brings for her in the next few years. She is on a medicine to try to slow down the disease, and it seems to be doing some good, but you just never know. My inlaws live about 3 hours away from us, so we try to get up there for a full weekend once a month. It's hard with the kids activities and such, but I feel it is very important for the girls to see their grandma now, while she's still with us. She was also diagnosed with Parkinson's last week... so she's got a lot on her plate.

I lived with an aunt with alzheimers. It began a few years ago and her memory has gotten progressively worse. I needed alot of patience because she forgets things she says, eats, and she will be looking for something and then ask me what she was looking for. It is more the recent things that she is forgetful about. If you ask about the past she can remember everything, she even repeats herself many times. Now she is in a nursing home because she suffers from osteoporosis and can't remember to take her medicine and her meals and I am not staying with her any more.

My grandmother has alzheimers. It's rather frustrating and very difficult to deal with, especially when they refer to items differently and situations differently that you do. It's hard because you're used to them being completely normal and not having these problems, and when it happens abruptly, it's difficult to deal with. We get frustrated at home too easily with her and I feel bad about it, but we, just like her being frustrated with how she's functioning are having a hard time dealing with the situation as well. She refers to everything (item, food, objects, etc) as a thing. We eat a lot of broccoli at our house and it's always called 'that green stuff'. She repeats herself a lot, and gets names confused. She can see someone the day before at a store and go to tell the story to me or someone else and she can't remember the person, she'll often refer to them as someone else, from a completely different area. When we correct her, she'll fight with us because we're wrong. She often gets frustrated at us when we can't understand her, and when we correct her mistakes.

I care for my father in my house. he lives with us. he is 83 with DHD. His memory is fading quickly. Some days he doesn't remember who I am. Then other days he can recall 40 years back. I feel it's more of dementia then alzheimers. But what's the difference is what I'd like to know. This has got to be one of the oldest discussions I've responded to. Hahaha!! Or I have alzheimers and already responded. Hahaha. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

I work in a long-term care facility. The wing that I now work on has many residents with dementia. I enjoy working with them. It can be a challenge at times. During some of their more lucid moments these people can break your heart if you let them with some of their responses to you. Sometimes they just look at you and say things like, "I love you." Sometimes they just reach up to you and give you a big hug. These people are "My residents."

The first nursing home I worked in after I got my CNA was an eye-opening experience for me. Within a short time I was sent to work in the Alzheimer wing. I really enjoyed making a positive impact on my residents lives. At the same time my wife was working at the Early Childhood Center, which is for 3 to 5 year old children. I was telling my wife about some of my experiences of the day when she said something that I will probably remember for the rest of my life. She said "Do you know what the difference is between the children I work with, and the people you work with?" When I answered that there didn't seem to be much difference, she said "About 3 feet in height, and about 70 years in age."

My great grandpa had alzheimers. I was a kid though so don't really remember a lot except him knowing us sometmes and then a minute or 2 later he didn't. He lived to be 92 years old and was diagnosed several years before.

I lived with an aunt with alzheimers. It began a few years ago and her memory has gotten progressively worse. I needed alot of patience because she forgets things she says, eats, and she will be looking for something and then ask me what she was looking for. It is more the recent things that she is forgetful about. If you ask about the past she can remember everything, she even repeats herself many times. Now she is in a nursing home because she suffers from osteoporosis and can't remember to take her medicine and her meals and I am not staying with her any more.

My great aunt had alzheimers. She and her husband had to sleep in different beds because she did not remember him, very sad.

No.. Not in my knowledge...

My Grandmother was getting it towards the end of her life. We did not live in the same state so I did not see a lot of the really bad times. The last time I had spent time with her before she started to get really sick she was acting kind of silly, but I thought she was just being silly, she had always been fun, but she was behaving kind of childish. I figured out later on it was because her mind was going. The alzheimers progressed pretty quickly and the time after that she did not really recognize anyone, but she was so thin and sick and frail by that time, and was just fading away. It was very sad, my grandmother was one of the smartest people I ever knew, and one of the toughest self sufficient woman one could ever know. My grandmother is what all women should aspire to be. Heartbreaking to see her mind deteriorate that way.