by Monica Lakhwani

Created on: May 04, 2009   Last Updated: May 12, 2009

Where did she go? That was our number 1 question when Alzheimer's disease started to take over my mother-in-law. One minute she would be with everyone and the other she would wander off. It wasn't just physical. The most difficult part was her mental state. It was a question asked by all who loved her as she seemed to be with us emotionally one minute recognizing our faces and remembering some events and then within a flash it was as if she was just a body with no one inside.

When my mother-in-law was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease it was too late! Alzheimer's had a big affect on our entire family as mother had to be watched constantly as if she was a little baby. She was not aware if she took her medication or not, she would not recognize her family members, would often repeat things from her childhood, and needed constant supervision.

It didn't matter whose house she was in ... what did matter was that she needed constant routine and could slightly discriminate between colors and areas. If the stairs going down were all the same color or all hard wood she was unable to distinguish the fact that she had to walk down the steps and would miss them. Mother was kept on the same floor as she would often take falls not knowing where she was going. Once we took her to the park and just turned around for two minutes to take care of our child and mother was feet away walking in the opposite direction.

The hardest part was that my mother-in-law was unable to recognize her own daughters or sons. She frequently believed she had taken trips or seen sights she had never before seen. We honestly believed that when she spoke of these moments she had an inner desire or wish she wanted to come true.

Alzheimer's disease took over four years of my mother-in-laws life before she fell and broke her hip bone. Shortly thereafter she passed away. During those four years it was extremely difficult for her children and even her husband to see her deterioration. If you knew her, then you would know how active of a woman she was throughout her whole life. She was always on her feet whether it was going shopping or cooking in the kitchen or running an errand. She couldn't sit still and was always organized and orderly. Her sister first discovered that something was wrong when she saw mother forget taking her previous dose and take her medication twice. Then, her husband noticed that she would often add extra salt and spices to the food she cooked. She couldn't remember

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