Each week we will be picking members to spotlight to tell their Alzheimer's story and why they are running in this year's New York City marathon. Check in each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)
At five feet tall with silver-gray hair, my Grandma Ruthie
appeared unassuming at first glance; yet, her enthusiasm for life and love for
her family and friends eclipsed her small statue and continually made her a big
presence in any room. The image I have forever ingrained in my mind is her
standing in the kitchen, pots and pans brimming with her best recipes, on the
phone catching up with a friend, working on her near complete crossword puzzle,
framing pictures from the latest family gathering, while also ordering my Pop
Bill to take out the garbage. How she seamlessly juggled it all never ceased to
amaze me. Pop Bill, her lifelong love and effervescent counterpart, rounded out
their dynamic duo and their 50+ years of marriage and devotion to each other, their
children, grandchildren and friends continues to inspire me. We always looked
to Grandma and Pop as the unifying thread tying our family together.
When Grandma Ruthie slowly started to forget where she left things
around the house, if she had made dinner or done the laundry and began asking
the same questions over and over, the family’s confusion, concern and fear became
increasingly palpable. She initially worked to compensate for her difficulties,
but as the disease progressed and her memory and insight deteriorated, she
sadly slipped further and further away from the bright, forever multi-tasking,
Grandma Ruthie that we knew so well. My family tirelessly worked to keep her at
home with Pop Bill, yet even with a home health aide and then a move to an
assisted living facility, her worsening condition left us in a state of
constant worry. The worry and fear culminated when Pop Bill received a phone
call saying that Grandma Ruthie had fallen and needed to go to the hospital.
The aftermath of breaking her hip, surgery and countless days in the hospital
took an irreversible toll on her strength and gusto. Her rapid mental and
physical decline following the fall and the decision to have her stay in a
rehabilitation nursing home were difficult to digest, as it seemed so
incredibly unfair that our once vibrant, independent Grandma Ruthie was
relegated to life in a wheelchair, unable to attend to her needs or remember
her family.
The night before Grandma Ruthie passed away, my brother and
I visited her at the nursing home, just as our family and friends did every day,
feeding her dinner. While she may not have remembered our names, there was
recognition in her face with a smile when we sat down. I continue to find
solace in the fact that while this horrible disease stripped her of many
faculties, it never took away her contagious smile; for that my family and I
are forever grateful.
The brave smile with which she faced this debilitating
disease, coupled with the unwavering family support during those tough years,
has inspired me to become a larger part of the fight against Alzheimer’s
disease. In addition to multi-tasker extraordinaire, she was affectionately
known as “Ruthless Ruthie,” because of her lovable stubbornness and drive to
succeed. The opportunity to run with Team Run 2 Remember and ruthlessly fight
against Alzheimer’s disease fittingly celebrates the amazing wife, mother,
grandmother and friend that she was.
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