By: Rita Carlson Learning about the Walk to End Alzheimer’s It is my privilege and honor to be a part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s North Idaho Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Coeur d’Alene for the third year in a row. My mother moved to Coeur d’Alene in 2019, and I happened to see a flyer at her memory care community. I asked the staff if I … Continue reading For My Amazing Mother: Why I Walk
By: Erin McLaughlin My name is Erin McLaughlin. I came to the United States from my hometown of Moffat, Scotland in 2003 to study for one year at Syracuse University. I had such a great year that I decided to stay on in the US, and once I graduated from Syracuse University, I got my master’s degree from New York University. I lived and worked … Continue reading Making Connections: Why I Walk
This article was originally published by the Alzheimer’s Association Oregon & Southwest Washington Chapter. It has been adapted for the ALZWA blog. ΣΚThe Sigma Kappa sorority brings women together through lifelong opportunities for social, intellectual and spiritual development. In college, members regularly volunteer in their community. This mission carries well past graduation, where sorority alumnae bring their values for personal growth, friendship, service and loyalty … Continue reading Sorority Involvement Strengthens Walk to End Alzheimer’s in the Pacific Northwest
By Lori Murphy We started noticing some issues with Dad’s short-term memory in 2005. He was always a great conversationalist, and he loved to chat with my sisters and me and our families — especially his grandchildren. After we had to repeat the answer to a question that he asked three times within two minutes, we knew that something wasn’t quite right. It was obvious … Continue reading In Memory of Mom and Dad: Why I Walk
By: Beth Hutchason, MN, ARNP Over the last 14 years doing palliative and hospice care, I found myself in hundreds of conversations with people who have dementia and people who love and care for them. This was mainly in a professional setting as a nurse practitioner, but I also personally had some of these difficult conversations with my family surrounding my dad’s diagnosis with Lewy … Continue reading Five Things I Learned as a Palliative Nurse Practitioner and Family Caregiver
By: Karen Plate During her mother’s journey with dementia, Karen used poetry as a way to process and express the many emotions she experienced as a dementia caregiver. Karen hopes her poetry will help other dementia caregivers know they are not alone in what they are experiencing. To learn more about Karen and read more of her poetry, view Through a Daughter’s Eyes: A collection … Continue reading Documenting Mom’s Journey: A Collection of Poems
In 1996, my wife, Gwen, started asking the same question three to four times in a short period of time. Since she was seeing a neurologist for seizures, I decided to ask about it. The neurologist suggested getting a neuropsych exam. After the exam, the doctor said, “If she wasn’t so young (age 56), I would think it was Alzheimer’s.” It turned out it was. Continue reading Finding support as a caregiver: Why I Walk
By: Beth Hutchason, MN, ARNP Beth has been a registered nurse for 33 years and a nurse practitioner for 25 of those years. She spent the past 14 years doing palliative care, a branch of medicine focused on improvement in quality of life and relief of suffering. During these years, she had the opportunity to interact with hundreds of people with dementia and their families. … Continue reading Safety Tips for Dementia Family Caregivers
Last year, in the middle of a sermon, Sylvia lost her place and couldn’t remember what she was saying. This was one of the signs Sylvia and Chris noticed before her diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s. This year, Sylvia and Chris will participate in the Pierce County Walk to End Alzheimer’s in honor of their family and other families facing this disease. Continue reading Our Love Endures: Why I Walk
Marti Anthony was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She was married and had five children. After 28 years of marriage to her husband, Marti decided to live her truth and let the world know she was a lesbian woman. She moved to Washington and met Evelyn Marie. They fell in love and spent 25 happy years together until Evelyn passed away from frontotemporal … Continue reading For Evelyn, my wife and companion: Why I Walk
