Expert: Alanna Shaikh - 4/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: My grandma has had alzheimers for 2 years now. Shes now 81 and i believe 79 when it stated. at age 79 she was at least somewhat there.now she has no clue about anything; I didn't think alzhiemers would make a person that bad that quickly. But anyways Im just 15 i cant deal with this anymore. She doesn't remember my name, and she will do things like fall asleep on Friday night and wake up on Sunday morning. She also has no sense of time, and when i come down for school in the morning sometimes shell be sleeping and the kitchen table with a bunch of napkins taped together! Its like an art project. please give me some advice on what to do from this point on.

ANSWER: I am so sorry you have something so difficult going on in your life. it sounds like this is a very, very hard situation. I am sad to say that sometimes Alzheimer's does progress very fast, even in two years as you describe.

Before I can make any suggestions about where you could go for help, I need a little more information. Is your grandmother seeing a doctor? Do you and she live alone or is there another adult with you?

Please write back and let me know.

best,
Alanna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She is not seeing a doctor right now. Both my parents live with us. I can tell my parents realy don't want to take care of her anymore. but I still don't think its right to put her in a nursing home because I feel i owe her for when she took care of me as a little kid.

Answer
I feel much better knowing that you are not alone in this.  I've got two things to say.

1) Your grandma should be seeing a doctor regularly. I don't know if you are able to suggest that to a parent, but a doctor can provide a lot of advice and support as your grandmother gets sicker.

2) I know you feel a lot of love and responsibility for your grandmother, but she may have reached a point where she is better off in a place that specializes in Alzheimer's care. Long-term care facilities are designed for people with memory and mobility problems, and they are often much safer. It may be that your grandmother is no longer getting a benefit from living at home.

Please feel free to write back if I can answer any specific questions for you.

Best,
Alanna