'Tis Difficult Sah

My grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's and dementia. She is in an assisted living home right now and I go as regularly as I can to see her on the weekends and usually just sit with her. She's not very lucid anymore, but she does ask interesting questions somewhat randomly. I ponder what she thinks about, because I know her mind is moving a mile a minute. Sometimes, I see tears in her eyes, and I think maybe she can't remember something or something escapes her too quickly.

This past weekend, she asked me who I was there to see. This didn't destroy me, like it could have. I've been prepared for some time for this question to come up; actually I just assumed she didn't really know who I was a long time ago, but I've never had confirmation such as this. It's not as easy to swallow as I would like, but I'm doing ok. I told her who I was, and we watched the Steelers destroy the Chargers.

It's unbelievable how powerful memory is. Before my grandma was even diagnosed, I have feared this disease like the plague. It's part of the reason I have a blog. Someday if I come down with this detriment hopefully, I can look back at this as a portal to the past if I want.

Keep learning things, that's what you are supposed to do. Albert Einstein had Alzheimer's, but because he continued learning his whole life, the departing neurons were replaced by new ones. It's funny how indestructible man believes he is, when we can be done in even by our own bodies.