Research Proposal…

The topic I want to discuss is Alzheimer’s care takers. The topic is very close to me and personal. It is hard to talk about with some people so only a few select people know about my grandmothers. My great grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease after the retired from her job at a local factory in Tennessee. My great aunt took care of my great grandmother for fifteen years. The disease came unexpected and went from her just simply forgetting small things to her not talking at all. She was bed redden and had to be fed through a feeding tube. Last year in July she passed away at age ninety-six. She had a UTI and this was common since she was bed redden, so we figured she would go in and come right back out. My aunt called my mother later on that day and somehow my grandma had caught ammonia and died. My mother’s mom had the disease as well. She also caught the disease after she retired from her job. When I was eight we went home to Tennessee for a whole month of my summer vacation. My mom’s older brother had been calling her telling her something wasn’t right about their mother. The town is small so everyone knew my grandma and they could tell something was wrong with her. My mother and I spent thirty days at my grandma’s house where my mom observed my grandmother. My mom knew something was wrong with grandma when one day my grandma had some cornbread in the oven. Instead of reaching for the oven mitt my grandma opens the oven and is about to stick her bare hand into the oven to get the pan out. Luckily my mom pushed her out the way before she could get her hand in the oven. To sum this story up after that incident my mother brought my grandma home with us to North Carolina. My mom quit her job as a teacher assistant at my elementary school. Now I was eight at the time and I didn’t really understand what was going on. But as I grew older and I went to middle school, and my grandmother was still living with us I notice her change. My grandma went from being this sassy, independent, talkative, small framed woman to not being able to bathe herself or fed herself. Soon my mom had to start putting my grandma in Depends and feeding her. We had to bathe her. Watch her carefully because she liked to wander. She would try to leave the house. More changes were to come, as I went to high school she was still living with us. She soon stopped talking as much and having a bed wetting problem. We had to hand give her her medicine. As you tell being an Alzheimer’s caretaker takes a great toll on your life. Your whole life changes and you have to become dedicated to this one person’s needs day and night. You are responsible for this person. I would like to research on how the Alzheimer’s disease affects families. Why aren’t there more support groups for this disease? Why isn’t the disease more publicize? More people need to know how serious this disease is. I’ve literally lived with this disease and helping my mom take care of my grandma since I was in the third grade till I graduated from high school. I have so many stories I probably could write a book. Maybe I will one day..