Penny Bonczkowski

I miss my Mom and the times that we spent at her sisters houses in PA, swimming at The Spa, walking around the park, grabbing a bite to eat and just enjoying life together. She had an awesome hearty laugh, and I used to love spending EVERY moment with her. Then one day, my Mom laughed no more. There were no more conversations with her, because she couldn’t respond. She even lost the ability to use her hands, and pick up her utensils or a cup. As her Alzheimer’s advanced, she had to be fed and taken care of 24/7. When I went to the nursing home straight from work, I changed and fed my Mom, took her out for walks in her wheelchair, watched TV and ate dinner with her, and stayed with her until she fell fast asleep. I looked deep into her eyes, and could tell she wanted to speak to me, but couldn’t. My Mom was confined to a bed, no longer able to get up and walk about. She used to laugh and clap her hands, when she saw me walk through the door on her floor of the nursing home, then that even ended. Towards the end of my Mother’s precious life, her brain shrunk drastically due to nerve cell death & tissue loss, which made her fingers clench and made her nails dig into her hands. We also had to give her thickened liquids & meals, to prevent aspiration pneumonia. The last 19-hours of my Mom’s life, I slept by her side never leaving her alone, until the Angels took her home. There was NO magic pill that would have returned my Mom to us, and I, and the rest of the family, miss her EVERY single day. And, it scared me to watch what had happened to her, because I wonder and fear if this too will be my fate. We need to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. It is a terrible disease, and I felt so helpless that I wasn’t able to save my Mother. I love and miss my Mom EVERY second of everyday! I’m so sorry, that they didn’t find a cure for my Mom, before she was taken away from me. Kisses and hugs to my Mom in heaven. Alzheimer’s disease has NO survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and PAINFULLY takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, walk and find their way home. It is SO DIFFICULT to watch somebody that you love, lose their memory, independence and ultimately their life – to Alzheimer’s. It’s our nation’s MOST expensive disease; it is the leading cause of death in US without ANY known prevention, treatments or cure. Alzheimer’s kills more than Breast AND Prostate Cancer COMBINED!!!! Please HELP donate towards a good cause. Our vision – is a world without Alzheimer’s. I’ve lost my Mom, Grandmother, Great Aunts, 2nd Cousins to this horrible disease.

-Patti Bonczkowski