It’s all in the cards
My Grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s in 1996. Looking back I wish I had been more aware of what was actually happening. I was 19 years old and had just finished my first year of college when I got the call that grandma had died. The whole family knew the struggle that my grandfather had been through the past 5 years as my grandmother lost more and more memories. But it was not until my parents helped to clean out the house that we all really understood the impact of Alzheimer’s on the caretaker.
Our first real sign of my grandmother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s was a Christmas dinner when the turkey was cooking at 100 degrees for 24 hours; needless to say we did not have turkey that year. The memories started to fade and fade as the years went on and then we started to get the phone calls from the local police that she was wondering off in the middle of the night. My grandpa was too proud to tell us or ask for help but we were learning of his daily struggle just to keep grandma safe. After 5 years of taking care of my grandmother my very proud grandfather finally made the decision that he could no longer care for her needs and he placed her in a very nice care facility, where within 3 weeks she passed away. I am convinced that Grandma knew that this was her last opportunity to have control in her life and peacefully decided to pass away.
As my parents went to help my Grandfather take care of the memorial services and help him with the house they had an eye opening realization of what it was really like for my Grandfather the past few years. He had struggled with keeping his wife safe at home and had not been able to take care of himself or the house. My Grandma would always tell us stories about the “gypsies” coming to steal things in her house as a child and in her state of dementia and confusion she hid things all over the house. My parents found money, pictures, and important keepsakes hidden under the mattresses, in bathroom towels, and all over the basement. The one hidden item that really stood out was playing cards, hundreds of them. Our family had a tradition of playing cards after every meal during the holidays and I really think that she remembered that cards were so important to our family and was trying to protect that memory.
Every time I see playing cards on the streets of NYC I think of my grandma and know that she is watching over my family and me. I am so proud to be running for the Alzheimer’s Run to Remember team; Grandma let’s play one more game of 21.
Coaches Note: If you have not read Katie Wells' fundraising page, you might have not have known the whole story...
The year was 2008 I get a phone call from my dear husband, Nate, to say that after living in Chicago for 9 months we are picking up and moving to New York City. I will be honest I was truly excited! I called my brother to tell him the news and the first thing out of his mouth is “we should sign up for the NYC Marathon”, so we did. With bated breath we watched our email and did not get picked. That’s alright we thought we will try again next year. 2009 – rejected, 2010 - rejected and I was pregnant. I receive yet another phone call from dear Nate, “Guess what, I am going to do the NYC Marathon!” to which I reply, “Great so you will be your skinniest and I will be my fattest all at the same time”. Now of course after being rejected for 3 years I was a bit confused of how he was able to just “get into“ the marathon. That is what leads me to writing you this email.
Last year Nate ran the New York City Marathon for Team Alzheimer’s. He was able to raise over $5000 for the charity, make some life long friends from the team, and post a very fast marathon time (more about that later). So now it is 2011 and because I was rejected 3 years in a row from the marathon I got an automatic bid and was really excited. I had our beautiful daughter, Libby, on Nov. 25, 2010 and thought what a great goal to have a baby and run a marathon within a year. But that just was not enough. After remembering all of the stories Nate would share with me about running with the “team” and how fulfilling it was to run for a cause I decided that just because I was automatically in did not mean I couldn’t make a real difference while I was running. So now I too am now a proud member of Team Alzheimer’s Run to Remember.
I have been training with the team on the weekends for the long runs (thanks Nate) and Libby has been my #1 training partner during the week.
Nate finished the marathon in a very fast 4:03. My goal is also to finish around the 4-hour mark. So I am wondering if anyone wants to put a few more dollars up to wager who will be the faster Wells??? It is for charity, but I would also like to win! :o)een training with the team on the weekends for the long runs (thanks Nate) and Libby has been my #1 training partner during the week. Nate finished the marathon in a very fast 4:03. My goal is also to finish around the 4-hour mark. So I am wondering if anyone wants to put a few more dollars up to wager who will be the faster Wells??? It is for charity, but I would also like to win! :o)
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