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Kris and Mary: how dementia has strengthened their bond

Updated on October 25, 2024

There are many responsibilities in being a caregiver. Kris discusses how she cares for her grandmother and prioritizes her well-being.

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Transcript

00:00
No matter what this disease takes away, at her core she still is my grandma. [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:07
KRIS (VOICEOVER): Taking care of my grandma really happened kind of serendipitously. My grandma had always been my best friend, and my mom had placed her in a nursing home.
00:15
And I just felt like, if Grandma stayed in the nursing home any longer, she wouldn't have the quality of life that I could have provided her.
00:22
And I really wanted to give her more than what she was getting. I just thought it was the right thing to do. KRIS (VOICEOVER): We've always had a really strong connection
00:30
my whole life. I moved in with her as a teenager. I had a really kind of troubling time. I was dealing with depression, and my grandma
00:37
kind of saved me and provided me with so much love and dedication. I'm just providing her what she provided to me.
00:44
What do I have to do? Nothing, just stay beautiful. KRIS (VOICEOVER): At this stage of my grandma's Alzheimer's
00:50
disease, she's not as vocal, and her vocabulary doesn't make as much sense as it used to. She's losing the ability to understand and reason.
00:58
She's angry with herself that she can't get out what she wants to say. KRIS (VOICEOVER): When I was a child and I didn't communicate,
01:05
my grandma used to squeeze my hand for "I love you" and different things like that. So we just kind of communicate through love.
01:11
Throughout this journey, I really have tried to focus on not forgetting who she is to me. My grandma used to love driving around in her car.
01:19
And we'd do some car picnics, where we'd go and get something to eat and eat in the car, like she used to do with me when I was a kid.
01:25
[LAUGHING] I really feel like we've built such an incredible trust and bond through the progression of her disease.
01:32
She's the matriarch of our family, and that will never change. So I really try not to take that away from us because it
01:38
is such a special connection. I don't want to sit here with anybody but you. KRIS (VOICEOVER): I've always known
01:45
that my grandma is the strongest woman I have ever met. I've always known that she's got the biggest heart.
01:51
I'm really just so grateful and thankful for her. I couldn't forget you. Oh.

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