I am walking in honor of my Grandma Nulph.
My Grandma was a colorful singular force of nature who loved her friends and family unconditionally. She helped raise me. She taught me to crotchet and quilt and do ceramics, among a litany of other artistic activities. I learned to ride my bike at her campground where I spent every summer as a young girl, and her house (oh her house!) was a magical place full of crafts and wonderous oddities.
I'm not sure if we were in denial about the signs of dementia when her health started to decline, or if her wit and nonchalance had just played it off so well. She had always been so healthy. Maybe she'd call every so often in the middle of the night, being absolutely certain people were breaking into the house... Maybe she'd forget to take her pills... So what if she lost all the phones in her house every week and there were half-drank cups of coffee every 2 feet....who cares!? She had ALWAYS been so quirky and clever and feisty! Aside from that, she never wanted to make a big fuss about her health and her independence was of paramount importance. How could you begrudge her that? Once you hit 90, you tend to get a free pass on just about everything.
When she fell and broke her hip in 2019, she had to be forced to take the ambulance. It was during her time at the rehabilitation facility when we really started to notice things - likely because the nurses were now pointing them out to us. She was becoming confused and was seeing things that weren't there.
When we realized she couldn't go back home, it was an agonizingly difficult decision. We knew that being in unfamiliar surroundings wasn't going to help matters, but given the circumstances it was the best thing for her. When we moved her into the personal care home, we were proven right. She became more confused, would forget where we were in a conversation or what year it was, and ask about people who had passed away. One thing she never forgot was that she wanted to go home.
When COVID hit, she had been in the nursing home for about a year. As it was at the time for everyone, at first we were not allowed to visit at all, and then we were only allowed to go in for extremely limited timeslots. I firmly believe that reduction in face time with family and friends sped up her decline.
Mid-2020, she started forgetting who people were. This was heartbreaking to watch. Someone who could once tell you how you were related to ANYONE (as well as their entire family history) now didn't recognize her own son. But even as frustrated as she would get, she never once became mean toward anyone. She embodied her true sweet nature to the end, and I'm so grateful for that.
My beloved Grandma passed peacefully surrounded by family on July 27th, 2020. I love her and I miss her every single day.
Please join me in helping to raise awareness & funds to advance the fight against this disease. Funds that provide 24/7 care and support while bolstering the critical research happening right here in Pittsburgh!
Thank you for your support! #ENDALZ
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