2015 Walk to End Alzheimer's

I've written quite a bit on here about my grandfather who had Alzheimer's Disease for the last 12 years of his life. Alzheimer's Disease is a terrible thing to witness take a loved one. My grandfather (Pappy) had what is considered "early onset Alzheimer's", and he passed away almost two years ago. 

In 2008, my mom, my sister, and I began participating in an annual Alzheimer's Walk in honor of my Pappy. We have walked in both the Tulsa and Springfield walks, and this year decided to walk in Springfield (we like the Springfield walk better). The walk was this past weekend, and Team Grey Wolf (which included Chloe Jo and Brianna) raised about $1780 to benefit Alzheimer's Research!

The walk is something I really enjoy. I hope someday to be able to volunteer more of my time toward this cause. I'm so glad that Brianna enjoys participating in it with me. 

Lisa and Chloe Jo haven't been able to walk with us every year, but we were thrilled to have them with us this time. 

Our prayer is that by the time these little ladies are older, Alzheimer's Disease will be a thing of the past.

I have been the Team Captain the past several years, but my mom is our star fund raiser.

Brianna took this photo of the big girls :-).

Our multi-generational team is small, but we are thrilled with our small contribution to the cause!

One thing I like about the Springfield Walk is that we walk around the Springfield Cardinals baseball stadium. This year, Louie (the Springfield Cardinals mascot) was also there for the walk!

We have watched the walk grow over the years. According to the official walk website, there were over 1100 registered walkers this year! In 2008, I think there were under 500 registered walkers, so it has definitely gotten bigger! There were also more booths this year than even last year. There were even funnel cakes!

We also got lots of little goodies that the girls enjoyed. 

One of my favorite things that the Alzheimer's Association has started to do in recent years is give each participant a pinwheel flower. The flowers are different colors, and each color represents different ways that the participants have been effected by Alzheimer's. We carried purple flowers which represented losing a loved one to Alzheimer's. Pens are provided at the walk for each participant to write on their flower if they wish. 

During the pre-walk ceremony, a speaker talks about each color and asks participants carrying that color to raise their flower in honor of their loved one. 

Then, as the walk begins, volunteers collect all the flowers and plant them in a "garden". It makes for a beautiful sight (we do get the flowers back at the end). 

Something new this year was the tribute wall. This was a large, wooden, tri-fold wall on which we were able to write tributes.

Our tribute to Pappy:

After all the booth visiting, flower holding, picture taking, and tribute writing, we were finally able to begin the walk!

We walked a little over 2 miles, part of which was around Hammons Field (where the Springfield Cardinals play). 

Walking into the stadium:

We walked the perimeter of the field while music played. The energy was really great.

Of course, Brianna couldn't just walk. She skipped, jumped, danced, and boogied her way around the field :-).

Lisa and Chloe Jo enjoying the scenery:

Brianna and Momma:

At the end of the walk route, there was a little snocone station. We couldn't resist :-).

As always, we had a great time at the walk. We are so appreciative of all the friends and family that donated to this cause and supported our walk. It is something that is very near and dear to our hearts. We are looking forward to next year!

2008 Walk to End Alzheimer's
2009 Walk to End Alzheimer's
2010 Walk to End Alzheimer's
2012 Walk to End Alzheimer's 
2014 Walk to End Alzheimer's

2014 Walk to End Alzheimer's

This past weekend, Brianna, my mom, and myself participated in the 2014 Walk to End Alzheimer's in the town where my parents live. This was our fifth time to participate in an Alzheimer's walk, but only the second time to walk in this town. It was a great success!

Our team was considerably smaller this year than it has been in the past (except for the first year we did it . . . we only had three team members that year, too). My sister was planning to participate, but had something else come up, so it was just my mom, Brianna, and myself. However, even with only a few of us walking, our team raised almost $1000 for Alzheimer's research!

Brianna was a registered walker when we had a team 2 years ago. However, she doesn't remember that (and we weren't able to actually walk due to pouring rain and lightening), but she was SO excited to participate this year!

My mom was our star fundraiser for our team!

I was a little concerned with how I'd do with everything being 19 weeks pregnant with twins. However, it was great. The weather was warm - but not too hot at all - and the walk is just over two miles long. I drank plenty of water and had no problems!

Our team name is Grey Wolf in honor of my Pappy that passed away last October. He suffered with Alzheimer's for over 12 years, so he's the reason we began walking in the first place. This was our first year to walk in memory of him instead of in honor of him :-(.

When we walked in this location 6 years ago, there were maybe a couple of hundred walkers and it was all pretty low-key. However, it has grown tremendously! There were nearly 900 walkers pre-registered according the website. It was really neat to look out across this grassy area and see so many people concerned with Alzheimer's research. This photo also makes me laugh a little because this water was SO tempting to all the children (which there weren't many) at the walk. There are three children with their hands in the water just in my photo! Brianna was no exception . . . she could hardly stand to be next to the water and not be in it!

One thing that was new this year were these memory flower pinwheels. Every participant got a flower and we could write whatever we wanted on them. There were four colors of flowers - each color representing something specific. The purple flower represented those who had lost a loved one due to Alzheimer's Disease.

This is Mom's flower. We took photos of them because at the beginning of the walk we handed them off to walk volunteers who "planted" everyone's flower in the grass. We could get them back once the walk was over, but we weren't sure if we could find ours in the sea of flowers. However, we were able to find all three! Brianna's and mine now reside in our flowerbed at home.

Before the walk began, there were several speakers. One speaker explained what each color of flower represented (purple for those who've lost a loved one to Alzheimer's, orange for those who support someone with Alzheimer's, yellow for those who are caretakers for someone with Alzheimer's, and blue for those living with Alzheimer's), and as he did he had all the participants with that color raise their flower.

As the actual walk began, it was really neat to see such a crowd of people walking. We walked down the street from the park and toward the local baseball stadium.

We were pretty much in the middle of the walkers with a large crowd in front of and behind us.

We were instructed to walk the perimeter of the baseball field as part of the walk. This was something we'd never done before and was really neat! The mascot was even out there cheering us on.

Like I said above, the walk was a little over two miles. There were tables set up along the way with cold water and snacks, and once we got back to the park, we had purple snowcones! I was a little warm at this point, so I really enjoyed that snowcone! Brianna did, too :-).

We didn't make it to many of the booths that were set up, but Brianna really wanted to have her face painted. Most of the booths take down immediately after the walk is over, but we made it to this one just in time. Brianna was the last one to get her face painted before they packed up. I'm not sure why those running this booth were dressed like this? Brianna was entertained by it though :-).

I want to say a sincere "Thank You" to all of those who supported me financially and otherwise so I could participate in this walk! It was a wonderful experience, and I hope to do it again next year!

After the walk, we did a bit of shopping (for the babies, mostly), then headed home and put our feet up! I was worn smooth out that evening! While we were gone, my dad and Chris worked on some shelving that I requested they make for the kids' bedrooms to help get our toys organized a bit better. I will definitely share photos of them when they are finished. I wasn't sure if I would take Bren with us on the walk or if he would stay with Chris, but he was insistent on staying with the "boys" and working in the garage. The boy LOVES tools and building, so he was super excited about their plans for the day. He's very proud of the shelves they built! 

His Chains Are Gone

This post is long and full of details regarding my Pappy's recent death. It's really for me to have in my journal, but I hope that it also glorifies God and raises awareness about Alzheimer's Disease.

I've written on here several times about my Pappy (maternal grandfather) and his struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Click on the Alzheimer's Walk link to the right if you're interested. The quick story is this: 

Pappy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease about 13 years ago. It was a very early detection of the disease due in part to my Aunt Diana (his daughter and my mom's sister) being a leading Alzheimer's researcher in the region. She knew and could easily recognize the signs and symptoms of the disease. Also, we knew that Pappy getting Alzheimer's was a good possibility as his father, brother, and several aunts had it. 

Upon diagnosis, Pappy immediately began several treatments for his disease, and at first it was very slow progressing. In fact, in the early years especially, our family heard from many people that they would never have known he had the disease had someone not told them. We were truly so blessed with many good years with Pappy before the disease took over completely. 

However, slowly but surely the disease did begin to take Pappy's mind and faculties. Incidents began to take placed that were dangerous to Pappy, and Granny - who faithfully stood by his side through it all - started to be very overwhelmed with his full-time care. In September of 2012, they moved together into an assisted care facility and sold the house that Pappy had built with his own hands in the 1950s. 

It was around this same time that I began to experience the horrible encounters where Pappy did not know who I was at all. For several years before this, I felt like he knew for sure that I belonged to him even if he could not articulate my name. And, once in a while, we would still see glimpses of him somewhere in his body. The first time I saw him and there was obviously zero recognition was incredibly hard. It truly broke my heart. In April, we went to see him and it was a good visit. The disease caused some strange behavior, but he hugged me so tightly when I left, and I felt that deep down he knew that time that I was his. I will treasure that memory forever. 

Just a few weeks after the April visit, Pappy had to be moved from his and Granny's shared apartment to a room of his own where he would have more consistent care from trained nurses. Every time I talked to my mom, she would relate yet another event that had taken place. Pappy was still mobile (walking every day), feeding himself, etc. but things were going south at a very rapid pace. I will say though, I think that everyone was a bit shocked at just how fast it got bad at the end. 

I know that many of the family had prayed fervently for Pappy throughout all of this. We didn't want to see this happening to him. We didn't want to see him on bedrest or immobile, and I'm confident that so many prayers reflected that. If you'll read on, you'll see just how those prayers were answered for us.

On the weekend of October 11th and 12th, my mom went to Wichita (Kansas) to visit my grandparents (my parents live about 5 hours away from there). She had made it a routine to go about once a month (maybe a bit less) to support my Granny and spend time with Pappy. After Mom left, on Sunday October 13th, Pappy fell several times (4, I think) and it was clear that he was losing his physical faculties. Well, I say it was clear, but maybe not. We didn't know at that time if this was being caused by his medication dosages being off or what exactly. On Monday, October 14th, he was moved to yet another wing of the care facility where he would be given even more specialized care. This was the wing that my Aunt Diana managed before she passed away from Leukemia in 2009. On Tuesday morning, Granny called (or texted, I'm not sure) Mom to let her know that he could no longer swallow. For those familiar with Alzheimer's, you know that losing the ability to swallow is often the last step before death. We knew then that the end was very near. 

My Mom immediately left work to go to Wichita and be with them. Pappy passed from this life peacefully in the early morning hours (like around 2:00am) of Thursday, October 17th. And finally, his chains were gone.

My little family immediately made plans to get to Wichita on Friday, October 18th. Chris had actually already taken the day off work because our anniversary is October 20th and he was planning to paint our living room that weekend (as a gift to me). I have an aunt and a few cousins who live in Wichita, so my cousin Brett and his wife Christine were gracious enough to let us stay with them for the whole weekend. We got into town at about 6:00pm on Friday, and met my parents and Granny for a burger before going to B & C's. I had told Brianna that Pappy had gone to live with Jesus and that we were happy for him, but that she may see people crying a lot because we'll miss him. When we first saw Mom and Granny, Brianna just stared at them with the funniest look on her little face. I think she was waiting for them to burst into tears right then.

But, here's the truth: My Pappy was a faithful Christian throughout most of his adult life. He served as a church elder for 23 years, and truly displayed behaviors becoming of a Christian in his every day life. Was I sad about his passing? Of course. He (along with my Dad) was one of my first heros. I'm still tearing up thinking about him now. However, in the midst of the tears, there is joy. There is relief. He fought and fought that disease, and now he has rest. He's been called home. And our prayers were answered that once the disease got really, really bad, he left us. That's what we wanted, and we thank God for his relief. 

Thus, while we were all sad, there was joy. There was laughter. We played and visited and hugged each other tight and remembered the good times. Pappy left behind his wife, four living children and spouses, 14 grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren. And I don't think a single one us doubts the love he had for us, or the great leader he was for our family. In fact, my cousins and siblings are scattered all over the US in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, and California. And EVERY SINGLE one of us were there for his visitation and/or funeral except for ONE great-grandchild. That speaks volumes by itself. 

I will say, the thing that hit me hardest was reading his obituary. He means SO much to me, and it was hard to see his life wrapped up in one little paragraph. I know, though, that my memories of him and what he means to me would blow that little paragraph off the page. And I'm good with that, now. 

On Saturday, October 19th, there was lots of family traveling in so we just spent the day hanging out and waiting for people to get to Wichita. We started the day at B & C's letting the children play (they have 4 year old Alexis, 2 year old Kale, and 3 month old Ellie, so very close to the age of my kiddos . . . worked out perfectly). Then, we went to my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Justin's house and hung out there for a bit with even more family, then back to B & C's to wait for Jeremy and his fam and Scott and his fam to get there. We had pizza for dinner that night (keeping it simple with so many people to feed), then the kids ran wild outside for several hours.

Some of the kiddos eating . . . 

Brenson enjoyed having so many boy cousins around the play with.

Brenson being crazy with Alexis looking on.

Blair and Wes playing ball.

Several of the boys playing ball.

Alexis is used to having lots of boy cousins, so she jumped right in there. 

Kale.

Sweet face :-).

Brenson found the chalk.

Run, Alexis!

This is one of my favorite photos from the weekend. A ball was lost over the fence and the kiddos were trying to find it (William, Alexis, Blair, Kale, Wes, and Bode). 

Trying to look innocent, but who knows what he was up to. 

Brianna was super excited when Uncle Jeremy finally got there (after a 12 hour drive!) 

I thought this was too cute of Brenson hiding in the toy box. 

Two more things that I wish to remember about this day: First, while we were at C & J's house, my Granny came up to me, grabbed my hand, and said, "Now how are you doing? Really?" I replied that I was doing okay, and she said, "Do you lie?" Hahaha! That cracked me up! It was so like her to be worried about how I was doing while she was the grieving wife. Just. so. like. her.

The other thing is that B & C have baby Ellie who was born at the beginning of July . . . right around the time of B3's due date. I had already thought about this and mentally prepared myself to be around a baby that age. One night while we were visiting, Brett asked when exactly B3's due date was and when I answered, he blurted out, "Oh, the exact age as Ellie." Then, there was silence. Chris looked at me and I could tell it was the first time he had realized that and I could see the pain in his eyes. Ugh. However, I was okay. I had mentally prepared for it. BUT, at one point on Saturday afternoon, Ellie was laying on the ground playing, and I looked over at her only to see my two little ones hovered over her kissing her and playing with her. No other littles, just my two. It was then that my heart really clenched, and I had to swallow a lump in my throat. I saw what I thought was my should-have-been and it was hard :-(.

Okay, so on Sunday morning, we all got up and headed to church with my Granny (my cousins and aunt and uncle are members there, too), and we had a pretty large section (like 40 plus of our family) sitting together and it was so comforting. Several of the church leaders spoke of Pappy and there were LOTS of tears shed by our section. In some ways, it felt like his memorial service and I totally was not expecting that. I also sat right behind Granny and could see her being emotional, so that certainly tugged at my heart. After church services, part of us headed to McAllister's Deli to eat, then back to B & C's for {a short} naptime. Oh, and that morning Brianna had woken up complaining that her ear hurt. Brenson was recovering from an ear infection so I was concerned. Fortunately, my cousin's wife is a pediatrician and had some tools with her, so she checked Bri out for me in her van in the parking lot of McAllister's, haha. She did have a mild ear infection but we just gave her a little tylenol for the pain and the infection went away on its own. Of course, we kept a close eye on her.

The visitation was from 3:00pm to 5:00pm that afternoon, so we headed to the funeral home around 3:00pm. As we were walking in from the parking lot, we ran into my paternal Grandpa. We rarely see him, so this was a special treat. This was the first time for him to meet Bren, so I was sure to take a few photos (Bren's middle name, Charles, is my grandfather's first name. It's also my dad's first name, so that's who Bren is really named for, but also for Grandpa).

We had a short chat then headed into the funeral home (Grandpa was on his way out).

The funeral home was pretty small and there were a lot of people there (just the family was a TON). It could have been total chaos with allllll the littles, but someone brought a tv, some dvds, and designated a kid room. SMART THINKING! The room was super-crowded but the chaos was mostly contained :-).

I also want to add, the visitation had more laughter and visiting and noise than any one I've ever been to! Not in a disrespectful way, of course, but in confidence knowing that he is better off. He is healed. He lived his life with purpose and conviction, so we rejoiced for him. Were there a few tears? Of course. But, there was also JOY. You just can't fabricate that.

That evening, several of us headed back to B & C's for sandwiches and more playtime for the kiddos. Jeremy and family were also staying there, and my sister and Brett's brothers and families were also there. I rarely get to visit with my cousins, so this was special, special time.

The funeral service was at 10:00am on Monday, October 21st. We had to take a few photos of our little dolls before walking out the door! They all looked SO cute! As a side-note: Lisa's Chloe Jo was sick most of the weekend, so Lisa was in Wichita by herself. However, Russ and Chloe met us at the church building in time for the funeral, so that's why she's not in this pic.

Once again, the church building didn't feel like a funeral atmosphere. All the family gathered in a room before the service, but we could hear people visiting and laughing and telling stories about Pappy in the lobby. It was really beautiful. Isn't that how we all want our memorial service to be? It was truly a celebration of his life.

Some of the church members graciously offered to open the nursery and keep the kids during the service. We were so thankful! I think we left about 19 of the great-grandchildren in there, haha! Most of the greats are 8 years old and under (with the exception of my brothers' kids and just a few others), so having an open nursery was perfect. Incredibly thankful for that!

There weren't many flowers because Granny asked that donations be made to a Bible TV program in lieu of flowers. 

After the service, the family picked up our kiddos and headed out to the cemetery. It was a crisp, but cloudless and beautiful day. We all caravanned out there in a huge, escorted line of cars.

My grandparents have 6 grandsons, so they were the casket bearers. The guy in the hat is the funeral director, but those carrying the casket are my brothers and cousins. And, for the record, they are six BIG men . . . lots and lots of height in my family.

Following the quick cemetery service, we headed back to the church building where there was a meal for 90 people prepared. And it was delicious! Don't you love my daughter's face and wide-open mouth? *Sigh* The little blonde boy next to Brianna is my cousin's son, William. He turned 4 in October and had a little thing for Brianna. He told his Mom that she was his "best girlfriend" and he insisted that he sit by her at the dinner. However, word on the street is that he is quite the ladies man and has many girlfriends :-). The funniest thing about this is that his dad (my cousin) was one of my first little crushes as a little girl. Weird, I know. But I was very little and didn't know better! 

We left for home not too long after the dinner concluded. Words can't really express how good it was to be with ALL of our family. We have big family events every so often, but it always seems like someone is missing. It was comforting for us all to be there with each other.

I also can't express how blessed I am to have had such a strong male role model in my family. I know not everyone has that, and I am forever grateful for the influence Pappy had on my life. I'll love him forever.