Living

When we hear the words Alzheimer’s or dementia, some pretty sad thoughts come to mind. Loss is a big one. The person's achievements were lost; their personality was lost, they...

Some time after Daddy’s dementia diagnosis, a couple of old family friends contacted me online. They were looking to contact Daddy and asked me for his phone number. That simple...

I don’t know about you all, but by this time in the year I’m usually halfway or more to my fundraising goal for the Philadelphia Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Some...

Daddy's spiral into dementia wasn't a slow ride. It was a fast, loose, and off-the-rails tailspin. It wasn't a gradual decline. It was a roller coaster flying straight down with...

Alzheimer’s disease is ...horrible. It’s horrible for the person. The loss is beyond our comprehension. I think of my dad and how much was lost for him. Then I selfishly...

While children’s achievements are often recognized as milestones, I measure the quality of life declines due to Alzheimer’s instead as millstones. To me, millstones are those horrible events that seem...

Have you ever been walking along and a smell comes wafting by that instantly takes you to another place and time? I’m pretty sure that has happened to everyone. The...

While I sit here trying to think about how the rest of the year will unfold, I'm focused on Alzheimer's disease. This year has not started well. I'm sure I...

Some people walk into your life and forever change the fabric of who you are. You can mark that date down on your jumbled planner, and look back knowing that...

I saw a story once about President Obama - he had two different colored suits, blue and grey, to choose from. He had his mother-in-law or the White House chef...

Living with a chronic health condition can take a toll on your mental health. Life often seems full of the things you cannot do anymore, the ways the disease compromises...

Merriam-Webster defines sundown syndrome as "a state of increased agitation, confusion, disorientation, and anxiety that typically occurs in the late afternoon or evening in some individuals affected with dementia." I...

It was always extremely important to me to spend time with my grandparents. At a young age, my mom instilled that this was important and modeled that behavior. I can’t...

Moving your loved one with Alzheimer's to a nursing home is one of the hardest, most painful decisions you will ever have to make. Some of us can do it...

“Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you!” That seemed the anthem of my life! I had a husband...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, telehealth is being used by more and more people. Telehealth is also sometimes called telemedicine or virtual care. Whether you have been using telehealth for...

So, a few days ago I had one of those days. You know the kind. I was extra emotional, and all I wanted to do was cry. I wasn’t sick...

One definition of TIME is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole. So I ask myself...as a caregiver to...

I had a little scare recently — a minor one, but one that shook me a little. I was walking around my classroom. I teach computer classes and have a...

As a granddaughter wondering what she can do to help her grandfather amid his descent into Alzheimer’s, I was a bit daunted. I thought: What do I say? How should...