My great-grandfather was diagnosed with dementia about a year ago. It was something that was hard to come to terms with, but we knew God had a plan.

As you may know, dementia can be treated, but not cured. It's there until the end of life. This dreaded condition rocked my family's life over the past year and still does. It's something you just can't help.

There are times where a person who has dementia may lash out and get angry. That's not them. That's dementia. I have heard numerous people say that people with dementia are mean. They just haven't stopped and thought about this one thing: a person with dementia is not the person they used to be. Their mind has drastically changed. You should never talk down a person with dementia. Instead, you should help them try to remember things that they really can't. Show them pictures, talk about memories, do whatever you can to help them remember the past.

There are days when they will remember who you are. Then there are days when they don't. It's truly heartbreaking to watch someone you love have to go through this.

There will be many restless nights and phone calls in the middle of the night. There will be tears shed from the eyes of the family as they try to care for their loved one. There have also been difficult decisions.

There are so many senseless and hurtful things said about people with dementia. That's just terrible. People struggle with this on a daily basis and it just keeps getting harder. Before you say something negative, sit and think about what that person is going through.

Things will not be what they used to be.