My Chronicle . . .
A Caregiver's Walk with Alzheimer's
Remember the Forgetting
Like most good things in life, memory is something we take for granted—until we start to lose it. And watching memories slip away from someone you love is harder still. Since my wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, her memory has been evaporating. I can’t reverse the losses, but I’ve decided to do the next best thing. I’m going to keep a chronicle of this journey. Here, in this space, I want to remember the forgetting.
(Evelyn and Mark posed June 22, 2024, the date of their 51st wedding anniversary.)
Your Story, Too
As I record my own conclusions and questions about our walk, I’d like to hear yours, too. Some 6 million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, so I know so many others have stories like ours. Let’s encourage each other with what we’re deciding about the forgetting. Let’s share and compare our journeys.
Caregiving is a conundrum. On the one hand, it is an honorable opportunity for its own sake and with its own rewards, while the other hand is often mired in guilt and self-loathing that comes from not doing enough, or doing too much of what we shouldn’t.