Worth thinking about

My grandmother has Alzheimer's.
I know I've mentioned it before... I think it was over on Jantics.
We've known for quite a few years now that something was not quite right with her. The signs were all there. She would say the same thing, ask the same questions over and over again, not realizing it's something she'd just said five minutes beforehand. She'd forget which relatives were dead and which weren't. She'd insist that her own son was dead, despite the fact that she talked to him on the phone (and saw him in person) multiple times per day. She became paranoid and thought the hospice nurses were stealing from her. When my step-grandfather passed away, and gramma was on her own, things really became noticeably worse. We eventually had to put her in a care facility. She's still there, to this day.
It's hard to think about.
I keep hoping that there will be a cure.
There's plenty of research going on but of course they need funding. The Alzheimer's Foundation of America has opened an e-store. It's called (aptly enough) the "Alzheimer's Foundation of America eStore." All the proceeds go to benefit the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. It's a nice place to pick up a holiday gift for your loved ones.
I don't know if a cure will be found within Gramma's lifetime, and that's kind of sad. Still, it's important to support this organization so other people might have hope too. In addition to finding a cure, there's also the daunting task of providing care for those who have this disease. Believe me, it's a very challenging thing which requires a lot of patience. I love Gramma a lot, but it's emotionally exhausting to spend time with her because I have to keep re-explaining the same things over and over again. It's hard to care for someone who keeps forgetting the simplest things. I have a lot of respect for the people at her facility.
This will sound sad, but even though she's still alive, I miss her.
I miss the way she used to be, back in the good old days.