Hey everyone!
I just wanted to do a quick update.
My nana is actually doing a lot better.. No she'll never be the same, but at least she's up and walking a little more now!
What I'm really excited to tell y'all is that I'm including another branch of brain disorders into my platform!
In my city of Sylacauga, we have a lot of people that are not only touched by Alzheimer's, but they also know of someone that has down-syndrome or autism.
Recently I have partnered with Police Chief Chris Carden with they Sylacauga Police department for a program called Project Lifesaver. It is a tracker bracelet that will help people who wander be found a whole lot quicker! I'll have more info on this later.
I can't wait!!
talk to y'all later!
Makenzie

Hey everyone,
A lot has happened since I last posted.
My Nana was put into the nursing home was last on the time line of events..
Well after my nana was put into the nursing home she started doing very well. She was getting accustomed to her surroundings and was fitting in.
Then tragedy struck-the hospital told my family that they couldn't accomidate an Alzheimer's Patient.
So she moved nursing homes and then another tragedy struck-She had developed pneumonia.
For those of you who do not know about the end stages of Alzheimer's, Pneumonia is usually what causes the end of a patient's life.
This was an extremely scary time for my family and myself...
Thoughts flooded into my head-- "This is finally the end" and then "I'm not ready to lose her completely yet"
All this time I had hoped for her to be put into a nursing home.. I know that sounds horrible.. but when you see the hurt on my family's face-you want what's best for them. And a year ago, I thought that was the best thing.. and Now I realize it still is.
An Alzheimer's patient needs complete care. All day and all night.
WE couldn't provide that for her.

But back to the story.. We all thought this was the end.
I wasn't ready.
I felt down..
Sometimes life knocks you off of your feet and onto your knees.. and then you realize you're in the perfect position to pray..
And so I did. I prayed.. probably harder than I ever have.
Things turned for the better though.
My nana gradually got better.
and soon she was sent back home to Sylacauga.

Now she's still in a nursing home and doing better than she ever has before.
I went and visited her the other day..
This was definitely a god thing-get this.
We were sitting at the nursing home in the sun room-My nana has this constant blank expression on her face all the time now..
but all of a sudden she looked at me and it's like a light went on in her head.. I SAW something just click and she smiled.. she SMILED a beautiful smile at me and said "I am so proud of you and everyone else, you have no idea how proud I am." and then.. it went away.. the light went off again and it was gone.. just as soon as it came.

On another note..
My grindaddy (aka my Nana's husband) was inducted into the Alabama Tire Dealer's Hall of Fame.. It was such a BIG accomplishment for him. I was one proud granddaughter! :)
She wouldve been so proud of him too :)

But I ALMOST forgot to say something!
I HAVE GREAT NEWS!
Ok-so there is this tracking device that is in a bracelet that is meant for people with Mental dissabilities.. Like a wandering device..
Well there isnt anything like it in Sylacauga.
Until now!
I received a call from our Chief of Police here and He wants ME to be the spokesperson for it!
I am soooo incredibly excited!
Stay tuned for more info about it! :)

Well i think that's all right now..
Thanks for reading,
Makenzie ;)

Accepting&Expecting

So the title is Accepting and Expecting...
I named this blog post this because I am having to accept what has happened.
I have to accept that:
A. My Nana is in the hospital for the rest of her life.
B. I will NOT be getting my Nana back.
C. My Nana will never be the same.
and.. I am coming to terms with that.. It's hard.. but I am.

Now for the expecting..
I am expecting a lot of hard times ahead.
Among these hard times are:
A. I won't have my Nana for much longer.
B. She'll eventually be bed-ridden.

So, now that were talking about nursing homes and hospitals.. I visited my Nana the other day.
When I walked in, I didnt recognize her..
She was all crouched over in her chair, hair in a mess, and she didnt have her glasses on...
I seriously did not know that was her..
It scared me..
She could barely hold her eyes open.
She could barely speak a sentence that made any sense..
She could barely walk..
the good news is, this is the best she's been.
and to be honest, that scared me even more.

That's all for now..
thanks,
Makenzie

My nana-Just like me?

Hey everyone,

The other day when I last did a post update, I received a message from one of my Nana's friends from high school. She went on to tell me many things I had no clue about my Nana.. One of them was how my Nana competed in Miss Sylacauga when she was my age (15 or 16).. She told me how she shined onstage, and how she was so excited to compete..
I started thinking..
That's just how I am today..
The only difference is that she sang and danced to Honey Bun from South Pacific (WOW I would've LOVED to watch her do that.. haha) I wouldve never had the courage to do that.. (you see, I don't sing too often in front of crowds... hahaha!)
I wish she was here for me to talk to about these things..
here's a link to the song Honey Bun (for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about.. lol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYEdezKgbrk
check it out..

Update on my Nana.. Well.. She's permanately in the nursing home.. She does'nt really know anyone.. The nurses say she is doing okay though.. so i guess that's good news.. We will see..

thanks for reading you guys.. talk to you soon!
Makenzie :)

Sorry For the Wait..

Hey everyone..
bad news.
My Nana has now been put into the hospital... she has to be under complete care right now, and that's just something that is not possible..

I wonder..
what is it like to have Alzheimer's? I mean really.. I don't want the scientific definition.. I want it to be on the personal side.. the emotional side.. the loving and caring side..
What do these 5 million americans living with Alzheimer's deal with daily? What do they see.. What do they feel.. what is it like?
What is it like to look at the love of your life and see a stranger?
What is it like to walk into a room, then immediately want to leave, but can't escape from the room?
What is it like to lose your most precious memories?
What is it like to not be able to bathe, use the restroom, get dressed, and other things we all perform daily..
Most importantly.. WHY? WHY does this disease exist? WHY does it affect so many? WHY did it affect my family?

I promise to be back with more posts soon..
I need to think.. and rest.. but most importantly, study!
--Makenzie

Post Four- Tuesday, June 21

Hey everyone!

So, I have some great news. I won the first pageant of the season, Miss Leeds Area Outstanding Teen! In my interview I recieved a great opportunity to talk about my experiences so far with my Nana. I've realized that the more you talk about it, the easier it gets.
I don't think I've fully accepted that my Nana will never be the same yet. It still almost feels like I'm stuck in a dream.. Does anyone else feel that way? I read a book last year that really made me think about my Nana. It's called Still Alice by Lisa Genova. For a great summary, I would suggest taking a quick peek at this link, http://lisamm.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/review-still-alice-by-lisa-genova/
I would also reallly suggest buying the book. The author is a Neuroscientist. She really makes you think, and feel, what the main character is feeling. I cried. A lot. It's scary to think that one day I might experience the same thing my Nana is right now.. Once again, its the 6th leading cause of death and the only one in the top ten that cannot be prevented, slowed, or cured. Thats past scary.

Just some stuff to think about, I would love to hear some comments/feedback!

thanks,
Makenzie :)

Post Three-April 6

Hey everyone!

Okay guys. Once again. Im terribly sorry for the length of time between posts!

Well anyways,

Today I received the the opportunity to attend a workshop on Alzheimer's in my community. Let me tell you, It was AMAZING. I learned so much.. so let me tell you a little about it.

First we got there at 8:30 for registration and we were served a delicious continental breakfast. YUM!  haha. Then we got settled and recieved a HUGE packet of information. When I say HUGE I mean HUGE!  We then got started. They introduced me! It was great! haha. :) 

Since there was sooo much information to be shared, I figured I needed to share it to y'all too.
So, Here's what im planning on doing
I plan to at least post once a week and share some different information with you everytime. :) (that way i won't run out of things to post so quickly like i had been doing!!)

Ok. So first we talked about the title of the workshop. It was called "Alzheimer's:  The Long Goodbye."
It is a long goodbye, isn't it? Just think about it.. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease. Once you're on that down hill slope,  you will keep going down, and down, and down, and down...

Alzheimer's was first discovered in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer. He worked at an Insane Assylum in Frankfurt, Germany. His first patient was Auguste Deter. He documented her progression starting at her age of arrival, 51, to her death at 55. Fun Fast Fact! Did you know that those documents were lost until just recently? Wow. and here's another, In the 4 years he documented her, there was only 32 pages??

Well, That's all that I'll give you today!

Oh! one more thing,
They also had some "brain teasers" that we did today to activate our minds!
Here's one,

Your a farmer. You just got robbed by a group of bandits. They take everything they can carry and leave what they couldnt. They left three items: a goat, a crate of cabbages, and your wolf.  You have to carry all three across your river in your backyard so they won't steal them when they come back. You can only carry one at a time across the river. How do you carry all three across?

Comment the answer below! I'll post the correct answer next week, or whenever my next post is.

I would like to say a special thank you to the ladies who put on today's seminar on Alzheimer's!
So Thank you to:

Suzanne Franka, RN, MSN, CNS, CHPN
Dana Taunton
Angelia Windsor
Misty Bailey
(all through Southern Hospice)
(im sorry if i missed anyone!)

Once again, THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!
I learned so much and thank you all for your encouragement!

thanks,

Makenzie :)