Alzheimer’s Notes

First of all, congratulations on winning a copy of Finding the JOY in Alzheimer’s. May its pages bring you strength and joy as you provide care for your loved one.

Since my father was a private and an independent man who I only came to know more after my mother died and after he was diagnosed with dementia, I wanted to respect his independence, while providing him proper care given his abilities at the time. (I was born on my father’s 49th birthday. We shared being Leos in common.) I hate to admit it (because it doesn’t have anything to do with providing care) but the one decision that my husband and I agonized over was what to do with his Wisconsin home of 45 years, because he was living in our California home. While we took steps to dispose of his and my mother’s possessions (there were too many!), I feared my father would “come out of it.” He would wake up one day and say, “Okay, this was an interesting experience…time for me to pack up and return home.”

What? We just finished having an estate sale during which your home also sold. You have no home!

This was the one fear that kept me up at nights.

After he was diagnosed with dementia caused by Alzheimer’s and he could no longer manage alone, we knew we made the right decision. Still, there was that nagging doubt all caregivers experience.

(For the complete story, please see, “Where’s my shoes?” My Father’s Walk through Alzheimer’s

Finally, Mary Emma asked me to write about how I came to write Finding the JOY in Alzheimer’s

During my presentations across America, I shared JOYful experiences caring for my father with Alzheimer’s. Afterward, while I signed attendees’ books at the signing table, they would regale me with their JOYful experiences. I encouraged them to write and send their stories to me. Some were VERY FUNNY. Upon receiving hundreds of caregivers’ JOYful stories, I knew we had something special that would bring strength and hope to overwhelmed caregivers. And thus was born the Finding the JOY series. For more information, please click on : The Caregivers Voice.