Tuesday, November 16, 2004
When Brain Disease Changed Gran
Alzheimer's turned my own grandmother ... from an energetic woman to one lost in her own distressing world.
I remember Nan as a loving woman who could not wait to have my brother and I to stay in our school holidays. She would take us round the shops in Southampton, treating us to cream cakes, toys and magazines and unashamedly showing us off to her friends.
Nan was also a bit of a gambler and loved to bet on the horses. She once had us all in front of the television, screaming for Red Rum to do her proud again.
My mother ... recalls her mother-in-law's deteriorating health. She said: "She would be just be sitting in a chair. She became quite morose and she seemed to lose interest in absolutely everything. "The most amazing thing of all was that she became quite aggressive towards her husband, who had been the love of her life. "
...
The next few months included night time telephone calls from the police to my parents - Nan had dialled 999 in a bewildered state as she was confused who her husband was.
Grandad even went through a stage of sleeping with his driving licence under the pillow in case the police turned up and he had to prove that this really was his home. There were other worrying times. Nan went missing after visiting one of her sisters; was once driven home by a stranger and also badly burned her arm while cooking.
Alzheimer's turned my own grandmother ... from an energetic woman to one lost in her own distressing world.
I remember Nan as a loving woman who could not wait to have my brother and I to stay in our school holidays. She would take us round the shops in Southampton, treating us to cream cakes, toys and magazines and unashamedly showing us off to her friends.
Nan was also a bit of a gambler and loved to bet on the horses. She once had us all in front of the television, screaming for Red Rum to do her proud again.
My mother ... recalls her mother-in-law's deteriorating health. She said: "She would be just be sitting in a chair. She became quite morose and she seemed to lose interest in absolutely everything. "The most amazing thing of all was that she became quite aggressive towards her husband, who had been the love of her life. "
...
The next few months included night time telephone calls from the police to my parents - Nan had dialled 999 in a bewildered state as she was confused who her husband was.
Grandad even went through a stage of sleeping with his driving licence under the pillow in case the police turned up and he had to prove that this really was his home. There were other worrying times. Nan went missing after visiting one of her sisters; was once driven home by a stranger and also badly burned her arm while cooking.
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