September 11, 2010

83

That is how old my Grandmother turned on her birthday this past Thursday. IMG_0643editMy mom, Summer, Camryn, my aunt Susan, my cousin Richard, my uncle David, and I all gathered in a conference room at my Grandmother’s nursing home to celebrate.IMG_0645editIf you do not already know, my Grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s. It is in it’s late stages, so she doesn’t seem to know who we are, doesn’t speak, and rarely makes eye contact. As you can imagine, we were delighted that she grabbed this balloon and batted it around. I even saw a faint smile on her face when she did it.IMG_0648editIMG_0649editShe made eye contact with me a few times. I think she was getting irritated with me taking pictures of her! Something so simple is so exciting to see. She’s in there somewhere.IMG_0665editIMG_0679editIMG_0680editIMG_0678editI can never decide if we’re lucky to have her alive and accessible, or if the burden of having her spirit slowly die while her body is still here is worse than if she had already passed away. IMG_0671editWe take each day as it comes… Thursday was a good day. Happy Birthday, Grandmother!

7 comments:

Discovery School at First Baptist Heath said...

Beautiful.. I worked with these patients for a long time. Good for you and your family for celebrating the moments.. for loving her no matter what and for celebrating her life!

Susie said...

So glad that you all got to celebrate with your grandma. That has to be one of the worse disease to see someone go through.

-stephanie- said...

She looks like such a sweetheart.
I love what your first commenter said. God bless all of you. Hope she had a happy birthday.

JBGRIGS said...

I'm happy for you that you all got to celebrate with her. God Bless your family :)

Colleen said...

This is beautiful. Happy birthday to your precious grandma.

Easton wife said...

Stephanie this was so poetic (visual and words!) and you probably didn't even know it. It touched my heart. My gpa is in the early stages of dementia. Beautifully said Steph!

Tiffany said...

Wonderful pics and memories, even if she won't remember. I'm sure it's hard for your family, but maybe your girls will remember a little bit of her.

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