"Alzheimer's Disease"

The death of former president Ronald Reagan brought national attention to the ravages caused by Alzheimer’s disease. While adults may understand the process of this illness, it remains difficult and emotionally draining to have a loved one in the grips of it. Imagine how difficult it must be for a child, who has a relative such as a grandparent or aunt or uncle who has Alzheimer’s, to make sense of what’s happening to grandma, or to auntie.
 
My own grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s for nearly 13 years. I was in the sixth grade when she was diagnosed and can remember her slow decline. I can also remember how my mother, a nurse, tried to help the grandchildren understand what was happening to grandma. No matter how hard she tried, however, grandma’s slow mental and physical deterioration remained difficult for us to comprehend. Years have passed and I am just now understanding the affects Alzheimer’s had on my grandmother and my family. To aid in my understanding, I have read a lot about Alzheimer’s including a wonderful new book entitled “What’s Happening To Grandpa?” by Maria Shriver.

This is a heartwarming story about a young girl named Kate and her grandfather who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Kate is a curious, sensitive, and wise young lady. Her younger sister and her brothers think she knows the answers to everything; however, when it comes to her Grandpa’s illness, Kate discovers that she knows very little.
 
Kate notices that her grandfather, who loves baseball, classical music, telling stories, and eating potato chips, starts to repeat himself, can’t remember what he just did, and sometimes becomes very angry. She senses that something is wrong. When Kate explains her observations to her mother, she learns that Grandpa has the early stages of Alzheimer's. Kate is faced with questions and concerns that are beyond her years.

By spending time with Grandpa and talking with her mother, Kate’s questions are slowly answered and her concerns begin to subside. She even tries to help Grandpa hold on to some of his memories by helping him create a scrapbook of his life. When he wants to remember special things like the day he fell in love with Grandma or the names of Kate and her siblings, Grandpa could look in his scrapbook and, for a short time, his cherished memories would return.

“What’s Happening To Grandpa?” does a wonderful job explaining the tough issues associated with Alzheimer’s and does so in a way that children are sure to understand. With beautiful water-color illustrations by Sandra Speidel, “What’s Happening To Grandpa?” is guaranteed to bring comfort to anyone who has a loved one living with this disease. The primary message of this story is to cherish your loved ones now and not dwell on their uncertain future.

Other books that tackle the tough topic of Alzheimer’s are “A Beautiful Pearl” by Nancy Whitelaw, “An Early Winter” by Marion Dane Bauer, “Through Tara’s Eyes” by Kathy Baumann and Erin Conners, and “Dog” by Richard Graber. All of these titles deal with Alzheimer’s in a manner that is sure to help both teens and children understand this disease. If you have any questions regarding these titles or other books for children dealing with tough topics like Alzheimer’s, please feel free to contact me at 564-7114.
 
Visit the Library’s new website at “columbuslibrary.info” to search the catalog, check the bookmobile schedule or read previous issues of the “Librarian’s Shelf”.