I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake the memory of watching Alzheimer’s consume my late grandmother Mollie Fields during her last months here on Earth.

I saw her face Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, heart problems and other health issues, but what hurt my heart the most was watching her battle Alzheimer’s until she died on Oct. 6, 2010.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million U.S. citizens are living with Alzheimer’s, which means 5 million families have also had to bear the burden of having their loved ones deal with the disease. While the situation may seem helpless, it’s important to remember that Alzheimer’s Awareness Month highlights our fight to end the llness.

Alzheimer’s is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that gradually destroys memory and thinking skills and the ability to carry out the simplest daily tasks, according to the National Institute of on Aging.

For my grandmother, memory loss came first.

Initially, she would address family members by the wrong name and quickly correct herself, but over time that changed. The family roles began to switch in my grandmother’s mind while she was staying with my mom, dad, brother and I.

She began to see me as her daughter, my mom as her mother and my dad and brother as any male member she could recall at the time.

Her change in behavior came in the midst of the memory lost. The worst episodes happened overnight.

I will never forget the night I woke up to her standing at the entrance of my bedroom door telling me we had to milk goats. Given the fact we didn’t have goats, it was obvious she was experiencing one of the many delusions that occur in the first stages of Alzheimer’s.

My grandmother would call for us so frequently at night for odd requests that when she didn’t we would assume she was wandering.

Wandering and getting lost, which is common among people with dementia, occurs when a person becomes disoriented or confused for a period of time. Thank God our loved one never wandered away from the house, which happens so often there are programs solely designed to track those who wander.

In our case, our biggest worry is she would fall and harm herself during one of her escapes. We made sure to always stay by her side.

While COPD was the main reason for my grandmother’s death, many individuals have lost family members or friends to Alzheimer’s.

It stands as the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., with one in three seniors dying with the disease or another form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

It’s always difficult to share this personal story, but I do it so people can see Alzheimer’s as more than statistics. I want everyone to understand the pain of watching someone that’s so beautiful to you go through such an ugly disease.

Maybe perceiving it this way will encourage more to educate themselves and donate, so we can put an end to Alzheimer’s.