Alzheimer’s isn’t stopping and neither are we. By participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, I’m raising funds and awareness to advance the fight against this disease — funds that allow the Alzheimer’s Association to provide 24/7 care and support while accelerating critical research.

Mom was 67 when it started. I had been noticing for some time that she had become repetitive, and she'd started to suffer with anxiety, which is something I had never seen from my mom before. 

Fast forward 1 year and I sat in a neurologist’s office with her, while the doctor delivered the news that she did indeed have early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. 

Mom was confused and didn’t exactly know what was going on, but of course she had already known something was different but just couldn’t put her finger down on what had happened to her. Mom always knew best. 

Eventually the shock wore off and Mom, fiercely independent as she was, began to live around her diagnosis.

From there, we embarked on a new journey. One that involved care, daily medication, and Mom becoming utterly lost in the fog of her own mind. 

This is what shocked me about Alzheimer’s. Until that point, I had just thought people with dementia were a bit forgetful. It didn’t sink in until that point the full horror  watching your mom with this cruel disease just simply forget you. Nothing has ever hurt more in life. It’s a constant pain that never goes away. One that makes you struggle your daily jobs.  As a 38 year old mom of 4 young kids and a wife I struggle. I struggle every single day and I can’t seem to except the way things are happening to this day.  Nobody loves their mother like a child, and nobody ever loves their children like a mother.  My gosh do I MISS HER. My rock and backbone throughout life she was to me. 

Some things are so deeply engrained into us that they are beyond the realms of mental capacity, or cognitive ability.

People like to pathologise dementia. They talk about how the person ‘dies’ before they are actually dead. And in some ways that is true, the coherent version of the person you knew morphs into someone different. 

But this different person, the person they become, is still woven together with the essence of who they were, their core is still there and you continue to love them the same way.  

Families facing Alzheimer’s and all other dementia need us now more than ever — and with your help, we can be there for them. Please make a donation or register as a participant and start your own fundraising. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s disease. 

Thank you!