When the lucid times come around...it hurts more

A few week back I was taking my Mom to a family get together and on our way to pick up another Aunt she turns to me and say "you are 25 right?" and I replied saying no I'm 36 (I round up) and she moved her face away from and I tried to look over to her side as we were driving and I see she is crying.  I asked what was wrong and she said "she couldn't believe that she can't remember 11 years of my life, she can't believe how her head is giving up on her."  I had to pull over and join her on the cry fest, I told her not to worry about it that this why I was here for, to help her remember.  Then I told her "oh no I forgot the pasta" she laughed and the moment where she was lucid and all there for a moment left us as fast as it came by.

It hurts me when she asks me things like how about how many Grandkids she has but it's the moments when Alz is gone and my Mom is completely lucid and she realizes that she has the disease and it is stealing her memories.  This is disease has no other word that "evil" because you know there is no cure for it and nobody wants to forget their loved ones and happy memories.  For that moment I was glad Alz came back so my Mom wouldn't hurt anymore.

Seeing the disease progress

The last month I've witness this horrible disease take my Mom's memories more and it feels like a knife gets wedged into my heart.

We had family visit from Spain, my Mom's eldest niece who she hasn't seen in about 50 years or so and that made my Mom very happy which I thank them for visiting with her the little time they had to spare. In one of our outings my Mom wasn't able to say how many Grandkids she had and this killed me. She was trying to tell her niece's daughter she had two then said no I think I have three or maybe it's two I think there's a boy and there's a girl her name is Alexys. My cousin's daughter helped my Mom said yes you have a grandson I turned around and said his name is Paul and turned back trying to hold my tears in.

I feel that she remembered my niece more because she's the only who wants to spend time with her Grandma and tries to be the best respite caregiver any Aunt can ask for her. She is patient with her Grandma and keeps her entertain by doing dance therapy and other activities but most of all she is her "Nina Bonita Su dulce princesa". Those are words my Mom always says to my niece.

Being in the right place at the right time

Today as I was running to set-up for the Zumbathon I remembered I had to get ice and other things but I don't like going to the Stater Bros by me so I was going to wait until I got closer to the clubhouse but for some strange reason I made a U-turn and went back to Stater Bros. We got what we needed and my Mom kept trying to walk away I had to keep asking her to stand nearby to not go too far awa

y the cashier looked at me and asked why we were wearing purple and what my purple wrist band said I told her we were on our way to an Alz event and purple is the color for support. She said "oh" and then went on 4 times to try to count my change back I asked her if she was okay she said her Mom was just diagnosed with early onset Alz, she is 55. I asked her how she was doing and she said she was lost and trying to understand it, I asked her if she had contacted to the Alz Assoc, said no, we went to the car and put a package together with helpful information. She was very thankful and kept hugging my Mom as I was telling her briefly about our journey. I guess it's true what they say, that God puts you in the path He needs you to be in. I hope she reaches out to the Alz Association.

5 year anniversary

5 years ago on 9/5/07, my Sister, Niece and Nephew and I walked into the Alzheimer's Association one sunny morning no longer as Volunteers but now as Clients :( Our Mom had a Doctor's appointment that afternoon to be officially diagnosed with Alzheim

er's although we already knew deep down but were in denial for years. I had been there dozens and dozens of times as a Volunteer since my Grandmother passed away from the disease in 2004 but this time I was so nervous and scared that as I waited for my Sis and her kids to get there I went to use to the bathroom but accidentally used the Men's room and didn't even notice until after our Family Orientation my Nephew pointed out that I had used the wrong restroom and didn't even notice it and we all laughed/cried. Since then that's exactly what we have been doing laughing and crying as we see this horrible disease take away our beautiful Mom/Grandmother from us everyday little by little, it's a disease I don't wish on my worse enemy. It's the most heartbreaking disease to see the woman who was your strength and rock for so many years look at you with those vacant eyes at times not being able to get the right word to answer something or remember who she just got off the phone with. Please help and be part of finding a cure for this disease that affects 1 out of 8 people over the age of 65 and 1 out of 2 over the age of 85. You can come out to our Zumbathons on 9/9 in Corona or 9/16 in Huntington Beach and/or be part of A Walk to Remember Team on 9/22. Thank you and God Bless.

Day Two of World Alzheimer's Awareness Month

Memorization

Memorizing something like all the US Presidents along with their VPs or what state they served would be a great way to help exercise your brain

We all know the US States, so how about memorizing all State capitals.  

You can find anything to memorize as you wish, the constellations, or another's countries Presidents if you already know all the ones in the US and you want to challenge yourself more.

Remember to have fun with it so you keep doing it.

Finding activities

I had to run out to the store the other day and my Mom was getting restless so I found these buckets with different fake fruit on each, they were mixed up so I said it was sad people mess up the employees hard work so she agreed and started to put the fruit in the proper bucket as I kept shopping next to her. I would ask her what do you have in your hand and what is its name in English since she only speaks spanish. I found something to keep her entertained as well as having her use her brain muscles to think as she she doing something. I also had her tell me the colors in spanish and English.

September is World Alzheimer's Awareness Month!

September is World Alzheimer's Awareness Month!  Do something different today to exercise your brain by using the opposite hand to operate your computer mouse, brush your teeth, dial the phone, to eat, or use the remote. Your brain is learning a new skill so it may feel uncomfortable at first!


August has passed and it was a extremely busy month for us, we started giving back to the Alzheimer's Association a bit more by setting-up a information/walk to end Alzheimer's table at Angel Stadium and so far we have had great results with people getting information they needed and many have signed up for the upcoming walks.

September will be very busy for us with Zumbathons-for-a-Cure to end Alzheimer's coming up on 9/9 from 10am - 12 noon at Shake it up Club at 440 River Run Road, Corona and on 9/16 from 2:00 to 4:00pm at Continentals Clubhouse at 19801 Brookhurst, Huntington Beach, the cost is $15 in advance and $20 at the door, you can email me at gigiam77@yahoo.com or my sister-in-law Zumba Instructor Frances Moran at francessantillan@msn.com.

We continue to take it one day at a time with my Mom's disease and taking deep breaths as the disease progresses.