By: Emily Bennett, Kenmore Thanksgiving 2020Thanksgiving after a year of loss, loss for the world outside and loss for me. My husband’s dementia has increased and the man who was once chief of staff, wrote four books and was often an after-dinner speaker at events cannot use his cell phone, follow a program on TV or remember his grandchildren. He is also declining physically in … Continue reading Giving Thanks: We Count Our Blessings
By: Craig Cottingham Craig and his wife, Randie, lived together in Bothell, Wash. for over 40 years. Randie now resides in Kirkland, Wash. at an adult family home. When I look back at how my wife Randie and I struggled with her dementia, some of the solutions were counterintuitive. At one point, she surmised that all the pieces of bark and dirt she was picking … Continue reading Looking Back: A Lesson Learned as a Caregiver for My Wife
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 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: 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
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
By: Erika Roden My name is Erika Roden. I am the middle child, my mom was a single mom of me and my two sisters. I am from Everett, WA and currently live in Arlington, WA with my husband Scott and our two daughters, Kirsten and Rebecca. I participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in honor of my mother who has early-onset dementia and … Continue reading Honoring Mom and Dad: Why I Walk
A couple of months ago when it was clear Liz needed hospice care, there was no question Rick and I would be there for her, even though neither of us had any hospice experience. The pandemic turned out to be a blessing in my situation as it allowed me to work from home, so we set up mom (on what was to be her “deathbed”) adjacent to my home office. Continue reading Mom’s Greatest Gift: Life lessons from a pandemic, dementia and a supportive work family
