November is National Caregivers Month, so we’re celebrating and honoring our Alzheimer’s caregivers by sharing stories written from the caregiver point of view. We’re starting today with Laurie, who is a long distance caregiver for her mother who was diagnosed with the disease three years ago. It was Laurie’s 25th birthday when she got the call about her mother’s diagnosis.
Laurie, her mom and sister
For about two years, my sister and I had really noticed our mom’s short-term memory was struggling. We used to joke about it and laugh and didn’t take it too seriously. Here and there we’d say, “Mom had an Alzheimer’s moment” and shrug it off.
But when she lost her job because of it, it wasn’t funny. Something was obviously wrong. She went to the doctor proactively and had tests done, and the diagnosis was dementia and early-onset Alzheimer’s. My mom called my older sister Sara to tell her, then I got the call from Sara. It was absolutely devastating and on my 25th birthday. I don’t remember too much about it except feeling frozen and like I had gotten a call that she passed away. Continue reading “National Caregivers Month: Laurie is a long distance caregiver” »
