I had a problem explaining Alzheimer’s disease to our young grandchildren. After agonizing about how to go about this, I came up with the following. I sat them down with me and said:
“Your Papa has an illness called Alzheimer’s disease that makes him act the way he does. It’s like having a broken leg, but with Papa, a little piece of his brain is broken and it doesn’t work the way it should. Because of this, he can’t remember what you told him yesterday. Because of this, he forgets how to use the television remote. Because of this, he falls asleep sometimes when you are telling him something important. Because of this, he forets things and people’s names. BUT, the part of Papa’s brain that is for loving, is still working well and I know that he loves you all very much.
I have reblogged this after getting so many requests to do so and still get tears in my eyes when I remember the look on their faces.