"Lola" is referred to as "Grandma" in the Filipino language. I am writing this blog to express my love for my Grandmother who has a mental and physical disability. Another blog I had just read really inspired me to write a blog about my loved one, my Grandmother.
My Lola immigrated to Canada just to take care of me because my parents were busy working to support a family of 5 children. My lola came to Canada when I was still a toddler. She would cook my favourite food, she washed my clothing, she cleaned my toys off the floor, she took care of everything I needed. My Lola was the absolute best friend a child could ever have. Although my Lola was physically disabled with her arthritis causing strong pains to her knees, giving her a hard time to walk, she still managed to play hide and seek with me, and even struggle to walk down the basement stairs just to listen to me play piano. She was a very caring woman who knew everything about me. My Lola would always be the one to wake up at 5:00 in the morning just to cook my favourite breakfast, prepare my favourite lunch, and wake me up in the morning to get ready for school. All this and more... But unfortunately, something bad happened to her.
My Lola started to forget things all the time. She would put spoons and forks in the fridge, and sometimes even something so silly as a newspaper or a bar of soap too. We believed that this was normal for someone to develop that in her age. But, it got worse. She started forgetting how to cook. She cooked dinner for our whole family, but we noticed that the taste was off from how it should be, and she was putting other things into our meals by accident. She constantly even forgot to turn the stove off, which now, became a huge safety hazard. My parents prevented her from cooking now. Once my parents and I moved out of our house and into a new house, she stayed at the old house with my Aunt. Now, she really forgot who we were.
When I would visit my Lola she would look at me clueless, and didn't know who I was, and would constantly ask me who I am. One time, I found her on ground because she fell off the bed from trying to get up to use the bathroom, forgetting that she is physically disabled and cannot walk. She then started calling my house phone constantly, speaking in her language and forgetting that she can speak English. She would call during the late night, thinking she was still a young woman in the 1920's looking for her mother, who had passed away when my Lola was around 20 years old. My Lola was diagnosed with severe Arthritis where she no longer can walk, and severe Alzheimer's where she no longer remembers anything. My mother was so sad to see her the way she is, so she flew my Lola back to the Philippines to be where she wanted to be. From what I am hearing, my Lola is having a great time there, and if we are lucky, sometimes she will remember us, and remember where she used to live, and miss us back too.
Although, this is a sad blog to read about my loving Lola who went through a tough immigration to come to Canada and take care of me, and who is mentally and physically disabled, I must accept the fact that she is older now, and that it is now my turn to care for her. She will always be the same Lola that I always known her as, the greatest loving Grandmother and best friend in the world who did absolutely everything to raise me and make me happy.
- Angelene
That was a very heart-felt post. I can relate to how difficult it is to have someone in your life who is so important and have them slowly get consumed by Alzheimer's. My grandmother also has the disease and I remember all that we did together when I was younger. She was an awesome cook and then all of a sudden she would put vinegar in everything and leave pots and pans in wierd places. There are many support groups and services for people with mental and physical disabilites but not enough. While your grandmother has family support, there are so many people both immigrants with language barriers etc. as well as people who have lived here their whole lives who struggle to get through each day without support because they can't afford it or are not aware of the resources available. In a perfect world everyone would have access to care but unfortunately that may never be the case.
ReplyDeleteJennilee M.