I have been a supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association and have joined in our local Walk for the past ten years. Every year at the walk I would get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when a person would share their story of “why they were participating, or who they were walking in honor of or in memory of.” Last September our walk took a personal twist. My husband, our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren and I walked because we now “had our own personal story.
“I have been a supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association and have joined in our local Walk for the past ten years. Every year at the walk I would get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when a person would share their story of “why they were participating, or who they were walking in honor of or in memory of.” Last September our walk took a personal twist. My husband, our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren and I walked because we now “had our own personal story.”
April 4, 2013, my husband of forty + years was diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s. We spent a year and a half with various doctors, trying to determine if he was suffering from depression and stress. Finally in desperation I sought a physician in Chicago at Northwestern University who specialized in Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases. After several appointments that involved cognitive testing, MRI, PET scan and finally a lumbar puncture, the doctor concluded that he did indeed have Early-Onset. Once we had the diagnosis it was time to educate ourselves about the disease.
The past year and a half we have attended monthly support groups where we have met some wonderful people who we now consider dear friends. In March of this year the Alzheimer’s Association gave us some contacts for Trial Matches. In April we joined a clinical study in St. Louis where Mike met the criteria and has been able to participate in an international study. We will conclude these monthly appointments this September. It has been very interesting. My husband had been a physician assistant before he became ill, so he took a medical interest in the study, wanting to do whatever he could to help others along the way. That is who Mike is. A very caring individual who in spite of his diagnosis is willing to go through the long-process of being tested, questioned, poked and prodded, whatever it takes to help find a cure for this mind-stealing disease.
We are trying to remain proactive, but I know there is a time coming when Mike will not be able to communicate at all or even recognize me and family members. Right now he struggles with finding the correct words, or loses his train of thought in the middle of a broken sentence. I attempt to keep items in the same place within the house, and we try and stay within a routine and remain orderly and structured in our everyday life. Mike volunteers with Meals on Wheels with our retired neighbor and attends men’s prayer breakfast every-other-Saturday. He also enjoys walking his rescue dog, Sadie every afternoon. He laughs and says that she is a misfit just like him. I tell him that there is nothing misfit about either one of them. They are both making the most of what life has dealt them. None of us are going it alone. “God promises that he will never leave us nor forsake us.” We are holding on to that promise, knowing where our daily strength comes from.
I walk in honor of the most courageous man I know, my husband and all others battling this disease.”
Click here and join one of the 17 Walks in the Greater Illinois Chapter. – See more at: http://www.alzheimers-illinois.org/enewsletter/weekly/september2014/sep3/claudia_story.asp#sthash.r5KN4yfq.dpuf
http://www.optimumseniorcare.com/services/alzheimerscare.php