I was sixteen when my grandfather was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. At the time he still lived alone, valuing his independence. While his memory was starting to fail, he was still capable of taking care of himself so my parents didn't see a reason to move him just yet.

For well over twenty years, my grandfather, who was called Pop-pop, would come visit my family every Sunday. He always came between 9:00 and 9:30 and was rarely late. One day Pop-pop had yet to show up and it was nearing eleven, making us all worry. When we finally got a hold of him on the phone, Pop-pop told us he had gotten lost on the way. He had been taking the same route to get to our house for years. Pop-pop got lost a few more weekends in the upcoming months. My parents wanted to have him move into our house but Pop-pop was a stubborn man and didn't want to let go of his independence. It wasn't until he fell on his porch while walking into his house that we decided it was time to move him into our home.

I was eighteen when Pop-pop first moved in and this is the first time I truly experienced all of what Alzheimer's disease was. Alzheimer's is a progressive brain disorder where brain cells and connections start to die and disintegrate, destroying memory, and other important functions. There is currently no cure. I saw the disease progress fairly quickly with my grandfather. He was moved into our house three weeks after I started my first semester of college. It changed the dynamic of the house dramatically in a way you can only truly understand if you lived with someone with Alzheimer's.

The days were spent having reruns of "Family Feud" and "Two and a Half Men" playing over and over. Pop-pop would follow whoever was home around the house all day. He didn't like to be alone and we really couldn't leave him by himself, since we worried that something could happen.

The nights were stressful. Like many patients with Alzheimer's, Pop-pop would "sundown." As it started to get darker outside, his symptoms began to get worse. By 7 o'clock he was completely confused and his personality began to change. He wouldn't remember where he was or who we were. Every night someone would have to stay awake until 5 am the following morning when the next person would take over, letting the first get some sleep.

Some nights he would become angry and aggressive. Pop-pop would forget who we were and start to yell. I remember having to stand there and listen to my grandfather curse and scream at the top of his lungs, anger in his eyes, and remind myself that this isn't him, it's the disease. All I could do was try to calm him down as best I could and explain who I was and where he was until one of my parents heard the shouts and came to help. My brothers and I were teenagers attempting to do a job that none of us were trained in.

I will never forget the night Pop-pop had to be rushed to the emergency room. It was nearly midnight and my brother was staying up. Pop-pop began to have a delusion and started to believe that the house was a prison and my brother was the guard. He decided to make a break for it. He sprinted out the door, down the lawn and tripped over the curb. An ambulance was called and both my parents and my two older brothers spent the night at the hospital. My younger brother and I spent the night looking for Pop-pop's dentures that fell out during the accident, trying not to stare at the still fresh blood puddle on the street. Every night after that we would block off the exits to our house so that when Pop-pop began to wander the house at night or felt the urge to run, he wouldn't be able to leave and get hurt again.

Pop-pop lived in our house for a year before he was moved into a memory care facility with caretakers who were trained to help him. Pop-pop started to get more aggressive and there was always a small fear that he would become violent when he thought we were intruders or burglars. After his fall, we realized that this was a disease too difficult for a family of six to handle. Our household had been turned upside down between the barricades, the shouting, and the stress put on each family member. I remember spending nights breaking down in tears from the stress.

Alzheimer's Disease is nearly impossible to understand if you have never lived it. Everyone who has lived with someone with Alzheimer's has a different experience. It's easy to forget about it or make jokes about it or even romanticize it when you have never had firsthand experience with it. I thought about writing this story in November for Alzheimer's awareness month but I felt that this isn't a disease we should think about for one month and then forget about for the rest of the year. For me and my family, every day was Alzheimer's awareness.

I encourage everyone to learn more about Alzheimer's and to please help spread more awareness for it.