My Grandma Rose had Alzheimer\u2019s disease. As she grew worse, she required live-in nursing care. It was heartbreaking. She always asked the same questions over and over, like what day it was or whether or not she\u2019d had her breakfast. We\u2019d repeat our answers again and again. Grandma Rose never failed to ask about her grandkids. I was amazed at how Mom and my uncles repeated the same answers without ever getting impatient. They understood that despite her deteriorating mind, Grandma Rose loved her grandchildren and wanted to stay close to us.<\/p>\n
Then, tragedy struck. My sister Maureen died in a car accident. She was only 23. We were devastated. Mom especially. The day of the funeral, the whole family gathered\u2014except Grandma Rose. After much deliberation, our family decided it would be best not to frighten Grandma with the terrible news. She wouldn\u2019t be able to retain it anyway, and the idea of repeating it was unbearable. Everyone swore not to say a word. But Mom struggled with her decision. She planned to visit Grandma Rose soon and dreaded the familiar litany of questions. “What will I say when she asks about Maureen?” Mom asked me. I didn\u2019t know what to tell her.<\/p>\n
The afternoon after Mom visited Grandma, she called me. There was a long pause, then she said, “It\u2019s a miracle.” When she\u2019d visited Grandma, she\u2019d struggled to keep a happy face and pretend everything was fine. But sure enough, Grandma wanted to know how everyone was. “How\u2019s Elise?” Grandma asked.<\/p>\n
“She\u2019s married to Steve,” my mom said. “They live near Philadelphia.”<\/p>\n
“And Carolyn?”<\/p>\n
“Doing well, Mom. Still living in Atlanta.” Mom began to tear up, bracing herself for Grandma\u2019s next question. But instead, Grandma Rose paused. Then, with a strong voice, more alert than she\u2019d been in years, she said, “Dear, Maureen needs you to stop crying. She\u2019s in a happier place now, except that she\u2019s worried about all of you. Maureen loves you so much. Please let her go.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My Grandma Rose had Alzheimer\u2019s disease. As she grew worse, she required live-in nursing care. It was heartbreaking. She always asked the same questions over and over, like what day it was or whether or not she\u2019d had her breakfast. We\u2019d repeat our answers again and again. Grandma Rose never failed to ask about her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[223],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1318],"class_list":["post-20186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grandchildren"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n