Why I Am Different, and I’m Pretty Sure That’s a Good Thing
Someone I thought was a friend once described me as “different.” She meant it in a negative way. And it used to bother me. But now I think that it’s a good thing. Because I am different.
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She Still Knew I Was Her Beloved Daughter at My Wedding Despite Alzheimer’s
We were originally supposed to get married in May of 2008. But, when it was clear that my mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease was progressing rapidly, we moved the wedding up by four months. She still knew I was her beloved daughter at my wedding despite Alzheimer’s disease. Eighteen years ago today, on January 12,…
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My Mother Needed Us to Love Her until the End of Alzheimer’s Disease
My mother needed us to love her until the end of Alzheimer’s disease. My grandmother took this photo of my mother, my husband, and me almost two decades ago. It was Thanksgiving Day, six months after my mother’s initial diagnosis with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. And it was seven years before the end of Alzheimer’s…
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When Mother’s Day is Hard because You Lost Your Mom
Every day has felt like Mother’s Day since my mother’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease in May, 17 years ago. Honoring and protecting her became my life’s work during her illness.
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The Expected Death of a Loved One Still Hurts Terribly
The expected death of a loved one still hurts terribly. My mother lived with early onset Alzheimer’s disease for over a decade. She lived in a nursing home with advanced dementia for almost five years. And she lived on hospice care for two years. I prepared for her death for years. I was relieved, of…
