Final Chapter! Chapter 16!

This chapter taught me alot about the process of dying. I have been around death, and experienced death my whole entire life. But it seems like more so within these past 5 years. I have seen people die at every age, and it doesnt matter what age the person is, it is ALWAYS hard for the family. Each and every person handles death a different way. I guess depending on the situation leading up to the death, some people can be more 'okay' with it, and other situations, can leave people in shock about the death. My grandma passed away about 2 years ago. She had been battling different kinds of cancer my whole life, doing chemo and radiation and whatnot. This last time, she had enough. She didnt want to fight it anymore, her husband had passed away himself 20 years prior, so she had no desire to keep fighting. She told our family that she wanted to pass away in California, and be buried there next to her husband. Sure enough a week after moving back to California, she had passed away. It hurts that she is not here with us, but im sure i can vouch for my whole family when i say i think we are all 'okay' with her passing. She was in pain, she was miserable, since her husband passed thats all she ever wanted to do because she didnt like living and going on without him. It was interesting reading this chapter, and seeing how many different parts of the process i and my family have been through, such as grief and mourning. Death is not an easy thing to experience. I just now think of her as an angel watching down and guiding us. 

Week 9!

            This week it was hard for me to pick just one topic to write about. I am a CNA and take care of elderly people, so most of the stuff it talked about, such as memory, depression, diseases, etc I have witnessed at some point in my career.  I’ve decided to write my blog on Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s involves impairment of behavioral and cognitive functioning.

The textbook defined Alzheimer’s disease as, ‘a disease marked by gradual declines in memory, attention, and judgment; confusion as to time and place; difficulties in communication; decline in self-care skills; inappropriate behavior; and personality changes.’

There was a sentence in the textbook that kind of threw me off guard: ‘alzheimer’s disease causes people to change from thinking, communicative human beings to confused, bedridden victims unable to recognize their family members and close friends.’ To me that seems like a harsh way to word it. Alzheimer’s is a hard disease to cope with as it is, it’s hard for the staff, family members, or even sometimes the residents (if they are aware that they are starting to be a little more forgetful). Although it is true, it was almost unnecessary to include that in the textbook, when there is a definition of Alzheimer’s that seems to be less harsh.

To me it is amazing how dementia and Alzheimer’s is kind of hit or miss from person to person. The other day at the grocery store, the man in front of me was 100 years old (turning 101 on july 1) and he was doing awesome! Doing his own shopping, and then he got in his truck and drove away! You don’t see many 100 year olds driving!  Before my Grandmother passed away, she was starting to show symptoms of dementia, which, to me is a scary thought. She was pretty young, in her 70s when she passed away, I could only imagine how she would be if another 10 years or so would have passed by.