My Papa and His FTD

My name is Allison and I am 7 years old. My papa has FTD and it is very hard for him. I do not have a dad but I do have him. Even though he is sometimes hard to be around, he still means a lot to me. He does not play with me that often when I ask him to because he is usually having a hard time. I still love my Papa even though he does have a hard time.

Sometimes he has a hard time and lays on the floor in the closet and cries. He tells my Grandma that he doesn’t want me to see him cry because he gets embarrassed. I feel a little sad when he wants me to go away because it makes me feel bad when he is embarrassed. I tell my Grandma I want to stay in the closet and sit on the floor with him. I rub his head and tell him I love him. I think it helps him.

Last week he took me to the carnival. I thought he would have sensory overload with all the noise there, but luckily he didn’t. I have sensory issues with noise and taste so I know what that feels like. It felt good that he wanted to go to the carnival with me even though he has FTD. He normally says no to getting a new stuffed animal, but he got me a teddy bear. Even though my mom said no to getting a new fish, he tried to get her to let me have one.

Even though I sometimes have the feeling that he might die, I try to forget it because I love him a lot and I don’t want that to happen to him. He takes me out to ride my scooter at the park. I didn’t think he’d like it, but he got his own scooter that was the perfect size for him and now he scoots with me.

My Papa likes to take a 3 hour walk in the morning. He takes his dog, Harley. He listens to music and it’s hard for him when he’s lonely. I think he has a hard time when he’s walking. Sometimes he cries and people see him. He likes Harley motorcycles and he sometimes takes me with him. He can still drive even though he has FTD. Grandma says he won’t always be able to drive forever.

The worst part about my Papa having FTD is that it makes me feel bad that he might die. It scares me that I already don’t have a dad and then I might not have a Papa. Even though he has FTD he loves our family a lot. My Papa loves me and he loves my grandma. He loves my mom, Tara, and my Auntie Ashley.

Even though Papa has FTD I still love him. Even if he dies, I will still love him my whole life and I will never forget him.

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