On April 29, 2023, my dad passed away. He was 86 years old, and unfortunately spent the last years of his life with dementia. Witnessing him progress through the stages of dementia was heart-breaking, and I often felt inept at dealing with the challenges the disease presented to my father and our family. Thankfully, we learned about Lower Cape Fear Lifecare. We started working with their Memory Partners team, who taught us more about the disease, how every day is different, and strategies for taking care of my dad and ourselves. As my dad’s journey with dementia progressed, we transitioned to the Hospice care team, who helped keep my dad as comfortable as possible, and took some of the daily caregiver burden off of our family.

Caregiver burden is real. The Alzheimer’s Association released a report earlier this year about the increasing burden on caregivers in NC. I spoke about my own experience with a local news station - you can watch my few minutes of fame here: https://www.wect.com/2023/03/23/its-exhausting-physically-emotionally-family-talks-about-struggles-caregivers-new-report-details-nearly-half-caregivers-are-battling-depression/

By participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s® with the Lower Cape Fear Lifecare team, 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.

Thank you for donating in my father’s memory.