If you watch Grey’s Anatomy, you know that Richard had been having some memory issues throughout the last part of the season.  All of the surgeons were madly researching to figure out what could be wrong. Someone suggested that Richard might have Alzheimer’s, but Meredith angrily refused to accept this.  Her mother had died from Alzheimer’s. How could it be that her mentor, Richard, also had it? That could never happen. It was finally discovered that Richard had had a cobalt hip replacement a few years ago and the cobalt was slowly poisoning him.  After surgery to remove and re ..read more

Early this morning our mom passed away peacefully. Her girls were by her side and our dad was holding her hand. In this last week she has showed us again what it means to be courageous and we will draw strength from her as we continue to fight Alzheimer’s disease and bring awareness in her name. For now, it’s time to celebrate her life – a life full of faith, love, and memories that we will carry with us and to which she is now reunited. You can rest now mom, we’ve got it from here. We love you. Betsey ..read more

“You are beautiful and one more hug before you go.” My son is having trouble saying goodbye to me in the mornings when I drop him off at school. He cries, “one more hug, one more hug,” with his arms outstretched towards me.  I hug him and say, “I will always give you one more hug. I am in your heart and you are in mine.” I whisper to him, “You can feel me in your heart throughout the day like a hug.” He sweetly asks, “Are you always hugging my heart?” A tear forms and I say, “Yes, I am always hugging your heart… forever and ever.” Mom has entered the last stages of her long and wonder ..read more

By: Betsey Nearly every day someone asks me how it is going with my parents. I am so appreciative of all of the support and understanding everyone shows our whole family.  We are so lucky to be surrounded by good friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. While the question is an honest question, my answer is never really honest.  I usually say something like, “just the same!” “She’s hanging in there!” Or, my fav, “for how bad it is, it’s going fairly well!” What the does that even mean?! People genuinely care and want to help, but I never find a good way to describe how it is reall ..read more

By: Betsey In the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease, schedule a session with a professional photographer for your family. Stay at home and have the photographer come to you/your family home. Take pictures of yourself and your parents, your parents and your kids and your parents together.  Take group photos, candid photos, and individual photos of your loved one. After a few years not only does age naturally change everyone, but after awhile, your loved one with Alzheimer’s will start to take care of themselves differently. Their hair will not be styled the way when someone else is d ..read more

It’s been a while since we’ve posted and I wanted to give you an update. Mom is doing okay and is much the same. Some call her the Energizer Bunny. In early February she was sleeping more and didn’t eat or drink much for a few days. Since hospice had told us in the fall that they would not expect Mom to make it to Christmas, we were concerned that this was the end. But, as usual, Mom rallied and came back alert and wanting to eat a lot! She downs her Ensure, pudding, and burgers! Dad continues to care for Mom full time on his own. We try to provide breaks and to give him time to get out to th ..read more

We celebrated Mom’s 69th birthday yesterday. She had pizza and cannolis and laughed.  We have been working with a hospice company since September and the social worker was able to come and celebrate with us. They have been very helpful to us and we are grateful they are on our team. I found this note in Dad’s office a few weeks ago.  I wondered when Mom had written it. Was it a long time ago when she was perhaps leaving for the weekend? Was it after her diagnosis when she knew she would lose her ability to remember Dad and to communicate with him?   I hope that one day soon ..read more

By: Betsey  The real hero of this story is our dad.  I have been hesitant to write about him for many reasons. One of the reasons is that he is very private and I don’t want to share anything he isn’t comfortable with.  But mostly, its because I know that all of my words about him will be insufficient.  There is no real way to detail what he has done for my mom and his part of this journey over the past ten years.  There is no word to detail the level of selflessness and love he has demonstrated.   My dad has been the sole caregiver for my mom for 10 years.  ..read more