My family has known about my great grandpa's dementia since I was a little girl. I did not know about his condition until I was about eleven years old, that was when it became too rough to hide. Dementia is a chronic disorder caused by brain disease marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. Growing up I thought it was natural for my papaw to lose his memory the same way it was natural of him to lose his hair. Papaw had fourteen siblings and the last four of them had this disorder. I have grown at the same rate as his dementia and watched it slowly take away his mind.
When my mom first told me about his dementia she didn’t just come right out and say it, being eleven that was something I would not understand.
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My mamaw would ask him to wash dishes or take the dog out and he would instantly forget what she asked. On numerous occasions she had to ask him multiple times to take out the garbage, and everytime I told her I could do it but she swore he was capable. She would ask him questions about his grandchildren and he would not even know how to answer them; it was like he had no idea who any of his grandchildren were. Going out in public became difficult because everyone would know who he is and he had no idea who they are or how to hold a conversation with them. Watching all of this happen in front of me made me bitter that my mom was right about how bad his dementia would …show more content…
He was such a good guy that would do anything for anyone no matter their race, religion, or gender and then had something as horrible as this happen to him.
These experiences with my papaw have made me stronger mentally. They have not only taught me how important family is but it has shown me to always make good memories because they can be taken away from me in an instant. This has made me more patient and understanding. I have learned many positive things from this terrible condition but I have never been able to wrap around why. Why would God want to do something as horrible as this to someone as great as my papaw. My papaw is a very religious person that goes to church on every Sunday and would do anything for the church. I have been taught that God gives as much as you can handle but why would he want to give anyone something as tough as this. I know I am not supposed to question why God does the things that He does but in this case I cannot stop myself from questioning it. I like to believe He has done this to make my family stronger, since my papaw was the person to hold our family down, and to appreciate family and memories instead of material things of life. Even though my papaw does not remember any of the memories that we have made together I would never