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Why did my Grandma get so sick so quickly, sorry it's so long?

Okay, my Grandma's been sick for about a year now. I remember very clearly the first day she started seeming sick. My friend and I went to my Grandma's house after school like we do everyday. When we got in, I went into the kitchen and my Grandma came in from gardening and I noticed that she was acting weird. She was slurring her speech, walking like she was drunk and she was just acting really weird. She sat down on the living room chair and I went in the living room too and my friend told me how she noticed that my Grandma was acting weird. Then after that, for about 3 or 4 week my Grandma started to get really bad. She started to become unable to walk by herself and she was starting to forget things and then she started having angry fits over things. Then she started to have chronic diarrhea and she started forgetting what pills she had to take and how much she had to take. My mom took her to the doctor and we found out that she had a UTI. My Grandma got medicine for that. After about 3 weeks, my Grandma's conditions started to improve. She was again able to clothe herself, figure out what time it was, etc. Then about a month later, she had fallen outside and hit her head and a neighbor heard her yelling and brought her inside. Then she started getting sick again, she had another UTI and we got that cleared up and she once again got better. Later on around May, my Grandma started to seem sick and one night, my mom and took her to the hospital because my Grandma called us and complained that she felt weak and lightheaded. She was in the hospital for about 3 week, and when we brought her home, she kept saying that she wanted to go home, and she didn't even know that she was back home. Ever since we brought her back home from the hospital, she hasn't been able to walk. She now has a nurse living with her, the nurse has been with my Grandma since around last May. Her sickness started progressing over the months and now my Grandma can't walk, she babbles, she chews on her blankets, she can't really eat, and she's like a baby now. Her memory is just going little by little, unfortunately. I really miss her, my Grandpa (who was her husband) passed away July of 2007 from a rare form of cancer. I want my old Grandma back, she probably won't get to see me graduate from high school and college, the day I get married and the day my children are born. I was looking at an old baby picture of mine, I was about a year old, both my Grandma and Grandpa were holding me and smiling and I was playing a music I used to like when I was little and I started crying while I was looking at the picture. She doesn't even know who anyone is anymore. Although she calls out our names though sometimes. My Grandma used to smoke a lot, she hasn't smoked since last May, when she was put in the hospital. My Grandparents used to go to all my school awards, they were always so proud of me. I miss them so much! My Grandma will be turning 79 in May and my Grandparents were married for 54 years when my Grandpa passed away. This year will be their 56th anniversery.

Public Comments

1. I'm so sorry about your grandma.
2. it sounds like your gramma had a stroke- that would make her slur words and act weird. strokes are caused when a blood clot gets lodged in the brain. smoking can cause that. the stroke can affect the body's ability to talk, to walk, to think- all kinds of things. she should have been taken to the hospital immediately, sometimes they can lessen the amount of brain damage if they see the person soon enough. im so sorry your gramma is in such a bad way. my gramma had Alzheimer's, so i know how hard it is when they cant be the way they used to be. it is possible that when your gramma fell, she had another stroke. im sorry that you are in so much pain with your gramma, but at least she isn't in pain- that is a blessing, right? all you can do now is just love her, and hug her, and make her feel loved.
3. She could have either had a stroke or she has dementia. Alzhemiers is one of the forms of dementia. Sometime with dementia you don't even notice the early warning signs like maybe they start swearing, which might be unusual for the person. Or they start losing interest in hobbies they once enjoyed.
4. First of all... I'm very sorry for what you are going through. I can relate as I currently live with my grandmother who has Alzheimers. I'm also a nurse so I see a lot of this. I know I'm stating the obvious... but it sounds like your grandmother has dementia. This is probably due to Alzeimer's disease, though there are other causes as well... things that her doctor has probably ruled out. You may not have noticed in the early stages as they can be very good at hiding it. My grandma was aware that she was "not right in the head" as she called it, but she didn't want anybody to see it, so she would just pretend to understand something even when she didn't. Eventually they get to the point where they are not "with it" enough to have the ability to pretend they know what's going on. So she could have had some memory issues for a long time now, and you may have never noticed. Also... Alzeimer's progresses differently for everyone. For most, it takes years, but could have been a lot quicker for your grandmother. There's also what they call delerium. That is acute in onset and reversible. That can happen to anyone for many different reasons (such as infection or head injury), but the risk is high in those who already have some form of dementia. So basically... your grandma probably had Alzheimers... then got a UTI, which could have caused her delerium... the antibiotics cleared her up and reversed the delerium but she still had dementia which is not reversible. Now her dementia has continued to progress... and the final stage includes immobility, fecal and urinary incontinence, even seizures. It's extremely hard for family members to accept because she seems like such a different person. And it hurts that she doesn't remember who you are or respond to you when you touch her. My grandmother is not quite there yet, but it is still very difficult for me. I am slowly losing her. All I can do is try to make these last years the best I possibly can for her. I remember how she took care of me and so many others... now we are taking care of her. There are support groups out there. You should look into them. And talk with your family about how you're feeling, if you haven't already. Let me know if you have any questions or need someone to talk to.
5. I am so sorry your Grandma is so ill. You don't say how old she is but it sounds like she is rare old. You mentioned that your Grandpa died a couple years ago. How long were they married? Most older people have been married for a lot of years. She may have been missing him so very much, that she is just dying of a broken heart & loneliness. But since we don't really die of a broken heart we have to die from something else. My mother died and the following year just before the anniversary of her death my father died of a fast growing cancer. They had been married 60 years. Since you were there a year ago and noticed the changes in your grandma, you should have either called 911 or at least call your mom or dad to tell them. Whether she had a TIA or small stroke, from what you say she may have had many little ones. A stroke is "a brain attack" instead of a heart attack which attacks the heart. A little part of the brain dies from lack of blood follow to a certain part usually do to either blood clot or some plaque that breaks off in one the the blood vessels and travels to the brain. The blood vessels there are very small and anything that is too big gets caught in the vessels and blocks them. So no blood that is carrying oxygen can get through and so a part dies. It sounds like she has a lot of problems now. I am sorry she has lost her memory and doesn't know you. This is very hard to watch our loved ones go through this. I don't know how old you are but you are learning a hard fact of life. Everybody dies. Most people don't realize that we start to die the moment we are conceived. Our skin continuously dies and we shed it. Our hair are dead cells. Some fetuses die even before they are born. Some babies die of disease. Many children die from all kind of accidents. Some of us are lucky enough to live to be old, over 65yrs. You need to remember your grandma the way she was before all this sickness hit her. It sounds like you have many happy memories to reflect on. Be thankful that you got to know her. Many people don't have grandparents. She will always be in your heart, so you will always have her close to you. You will miss her but I am sure you don't want her to suffer any more. Do what I do. All those family members and friends I have lost over my lifetime, I remember something funny they said or did and it makes me smile to myself to know that they loved me and are still with me in my heart. Some day we will all be together again. I hope I have helped you a little bit.