The day before my grandma's memorial services, my mother asked me if I would like to speak about my grandma and about Alzheimer's disease. This is what I wrote and attempted to read.
"Many years ago, Wela was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes. As a teenager, I really didn't know what this all meant.
Slowly, my grandma began to act differently and forget things. She forgot small things and got confused at first. She would get confused to the point where she would leave the house all by herself, walking down the street. This happened too many times to count. I would get off the bus after school and have to go running down the road and beg her to come home with me. She was always so tough on the outside but inside she was a big softy, I'd tell her how much I loved her and she would turn back and walk home with me. Eventually one of her walks, sadly costed her the ability to walk. We could no longer care for her at home.
As the years went by, she slowly began to forget more and more of the people in her life. She got sick, she fought back, she got better, over and over again. She was a fighter, the strongest woman I know.
The most recent time that she got sick was about 4 months ago. We all prepared for the worst. Once again, she fought back. She went from not waking for days to asking for coffee and pan dulce on a regular basis. She asked to sit up in a chair rather than be in bed. She talked and laughed with us and even recognized my dad. One of my favorite moments was when I snapped that photo of her(pictured in slide show at the bottom of the page)… Janie, Raquel, Olga and myself, sat around the room with Wela talking about who knows what. When in the middle of the conversation, my daughter Lily fell down! And Wela burst into laughter! Her palm went straight to her face and we all cracked up. It was one of the many moments from those 30 days at Hospice that I will forever hold onto.
Over the next 4 months she began to regress. Once again losing herself to that awful disease. She forgot us again and began to lose energy. And on Friday she just went to sleep. She was tired, tired of fighting.
I will be forever grateful for all of the extra time that God has given us with her. Not many can say that their grandma lived for more than a century, but I can. I will be forever grateful for her entire life. She gave me my wonderful father, who found me an amazing mother and gave me the best 5 siblings that I could ever ask for. My grandma attended my graduation, my wedding and even held my baby girl. I am going to miss her more than anything in this world but I know now that she is in a better place. She has regained her ability to speak and to walk without a worry.
You will notice today that many of us today are wearing purple. Purple is the color for Alzheimer's awareness across the country. Alzheimer's disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States overall and the 5th leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older. It is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent it, cure it or even slow its progression. Deaths from Alzheimer's increased 68 percent between 2000 and 2010, while deaths from other major diseases, including the number one cause of death (heart disease), decreased.
In a few hundred families worldwide, scientists have pinpointed several rare genes that directly cause Alzheimer's. Our family may have those rare genes. Recently, a couple of our relatives have began showing signs of this disease. In less than 2 years, Tia Vita, has developed full blown Alzheimer's. She has forgotten her family and began to wander, just as Wela once did. As a family, we need to stand together and do what we can to fight this disease. So that OUR grandkids will not have to go through this. This year, I ask you to join me and the rest of team "Walking for Wela" as we walk together for the 4th year at the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Holland on October 10th in honor of our grandmother, Martina Muñiz Peña.
Thank you."
I could go on for days about how my grandma was amazing and strong, but now I be like her, I need to be strong. This is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to go through. However, I know that she is better now. She is with her siblings now, dancing cumbias in the sky. I love you grandma. I cannot say goodbye. I will see you later. I love you.
"Many years ago, Wela was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes. As a teenager, I really didn't know what this all meant.
Slowly, my grandma began to act differently and forget things. She forgot small things and got confused at first. She would get confused to the point where she would leave the house all by herself, walking down the street. This happened too many times to count. I would get off the bus after school and have to go running down the road and beg her to come home with me. She was always so tough on the outside but inside she was a big softy, I'd tell her how much I loved her and she would turn back and walk home with me. Eventually one of her walks, sadly costed her the ability to walk. We could no longer care for her at home.
As the years went by, she slowly began to forget more and more of the people in her life. She got sick, she fought back, she got better, over and over again. She was a fighter, the strongest woman I know.
The most recent time that she got sick was about 4 months ago. We all prepared for the worst. Once again, she fought back. She went from not waking for days to asking for coffee and pan dulce on a regular basis. She asked to sit up in a chair rather than be in bed. She talked and laughed with us and even recognized my dad. One of my favorite moments was when I snapped that photo of her(pictured in slide show at the bottom of the page)… Janie, Raquel, Olga and myself, sat around the room with Wela talking about who knows what. When in the middle of the conversation, my daughter Lily fell down! And Wela burst into laughter! Her palm went straight to her face and we all cracked up. It was one of the many moments from those 30 days at Hospice that I will forever hold onto.
Over the next 4 months she began to regress. Once again losing herself to that awful disease. She forgot us again and began to lose energy. And on Friday she just went to sleep. She was tired, tired of fighting.
I will be forever grateful for all of the extra time that God has given us with her. Not many can say that their grandma lived for more than a century, but I can. I will be forever grateful for her entire life. She gave me my wonderful father, who found me an amazing mother and gave me the best 5 siblings that I could ever ask for. My grandma attended my graduation, my wedding and even held my baby girl. I am going to miss her more than anything in this world but I know now that she is in a better place. She has regained her ability to speak and to walk without a worry.
You will notice today that many of us today are wearing purple. Purple is the color for Alzheimer's awareness across the country. Alzheimer's disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States overall and the 5th leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older. It is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent it, cure it or even slow its progression. Deaths from Alzheimer's increased 68 percent between 2000 and 2010, while deaths from other major diseases, including the number one cause of death (heart disease), decreased.
In a few hundred families worldwide, scientists have pinpointed several rare genes that directly cause Alzheimer's. Our family may have those rare genes. Recently, a couple of our relatives have began showing signs of this disease. In less than 2 years, Tia Vita, has developed full blown Alzheimer's. She has forgotten her family and began to wander, just as Wela once did. As a family, we need to stand together and do what we can to fight this disease. So that OUR grandkids will not have to go through this. This year, I ask you to join me and the rest of team "Walking for Wela" as we walk together for the 4th year at the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Holland on October 10th in honor of our grandmother, Martina Muñiz Peña.
Thank you."
I could go on for days about how my grandma was amazing and strong, but now I be like her, I need to be strong. This is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to go through. However, I know that she is better now. She is with her siblings now, dancing cumbias in the sky. I love you grandma. I cannot say goodbye. I will see you later. I love you.
© Victoria L. Payne
In my Rose Garden of memories
I see you standing there
An angel in disguise
Who taught me how to care
I long to hear your voice
for real not in my dreams
I am missing you so much these days
how empty my world seems
People say time heals all wounds
that someday the pain will subside
But Grandma I can tell you
I think they must have lied
The emptiness I am feeling now
is strong and I am weak
These days go by without you
so dreary and so bleak
In my Rose Garden of memories
I know you'll always be
for though you're gone
from this mortal world
In my heart you'll always be