I was diagnosed with younger onset dementia on July 31st, 2014. I may not have much of a short term memory anymore, but that’s one date I’ll never forget. People often ask me how I coped with such a devastating diagnosis. I believe in positivity; I took comfort in finally having a name and a […]
Being a caregiver isn’t easy, but it’s even more difficult when your “patient” is someone who has cared for you your entire life. According to Cassandra Jones, whose mother Deana was diagnosed with semantic dementia at 50, the sudden role reversal can be jarring. “It’s hard because she’s still my mom — in the beginning […]
A few years ago, an editor emailed me and asked me if I would write an article for their website. My mom had been diagnosed with semantic dementia earlier that year (at age 50) and I began blogging about her disease a few months after her diagnosis. The topic they wanted me to write about […]
You’re 76 and are having memory problems beyond the occasional slip. Last month, you drove in circles for an hour because you forgot how to get home from the same grocery store where you’ve shopped for three decades. You’re finding the sequences of ordinary tasks difficult to understand. Finally, you give in to your husband’s […]
Letting others in can be an important part of coping with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis — we all need friends and family to lean on, and fighting the battle alone is almost always a losing proposition. It’s not for everyone, though. “Some people are simply more comfortable with being private, keeping everything private,” longtime caregiver and […]
