My Grandma Pauline taught me a lot about hard work & how to be a good Mom.  She raised 5 children and had many hobbies.  She enjoyed quilting, was an amazing cook/baker, gardening, shopping, traveling and loved being around children.  When her children were grown and she became a widow she wanted to keep active.  She learned to drive a car and rejoined the work force.  She worked until the age of 85 in a school cafeteria.  What a perfect match!  She was able to use her cooking skills & love of children to be able to fill an essential role in our schools.  

In about 2013, Grandma started to show signs of Alzheimer's often hearing things/people in her house and some general confusion.  This was a scary situation given she lived alone. The Dr's weren't completely sure what was going on, they prescribed various mental health medication to try to minimize symptoms. After she had knee replacement surgery in 2016 her children & Dr's determined it would be best for her to move to an assisted living facility.  She was there for about 3 years and during that time she had some great care givers & activity staff.  It was really a happy time in her life as she could still remain active.  Her symptoms started getting gradually worse and in 2019 she moved to a memory care unit in the facility.  Her symptoms became increasingly worse and at times she would be "uncontrollable."  At the beginning of 2020, she was officially diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.  At that time her children were also informed that the facility she was at was no longer able to provide the care that she needed and they would have to find a new facility for her.  It was a difficult task as resources are hard to come by, however she moved to a great smaller facility with more individualized care in January 2020.  COVID broke out and we were not able to visit like we would have liked, her disease also made it difficult to connect on the phone/facetime.  There were times where we could meet outside & once things started to get a little better we were able to visit.  They were hard visits as she really did not know her family anymore, however there were amazing moments of clarity.  As well as times where she could recall vivid memories from her childhood & young adulthood.  Even though many parts of her were missing there were still mannerisms & her smile that would allow you to know she was still there.  She passed away in July of 2021, even though it was a difficult time we had lost pieces of who she was over the years due to her disease.  

I walk to honor my Grandma Pauline & all those who currently live with this disease.  My Grandma taught me a lot and I was able to spend time with her into my adulthood.  She taught me a lot about hard work & giving back to your community.  Alzheimer’s isn’t stopping and neither are we. By participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, I’m raising funds and awareness to advance the fight against this disease — funds that allow the Alzheimer’s Association to provide 24/7 care and support while accelerating critical research.