By: Melinda
It has been nine years since Mom was first diagnosed with post cortical atrophy. I was living in Hawaii, watching the sunsets, playing in the ocean tides and lounging on the soft sand beaches. I was single and really didn’t have a major care in the world. Up until that point I had made decisions based on what was best for my life and any goal or dream I set out to achieve, I just did it. I wanted to be a photojournalist, so after college I packed up and moved to Colorado where I did just that. I had a free ski pass, met a lot of celebrities and enjoyed mountain life. After years of being cold, I decided I needed to move to the beach, so I moved to Hawaii. Three years into Hawaiian life, my world changed.
When I got the call in 2009 walking along the beach, it changed my life. Dad called saying that Mom had emphysema (yeah, I said emphysema, random, I know). One doctor thought that was what was wrong with her. Mom had never been a smoker through my whole life and I had never heard of her being a smoker before I was born. I’m fuzzy on the details but the doctor quickly changed her mind and a neurologist diagnosed her with post cortical atrophy. Which what research says leads to Alzheimer’s.
I was now faced with making a decision for myself but also the best interest of my family. I didn’t want to have any regrets and perhaps if there was only a few good years left of Mom being Mom, the best decision for myself, my mom and my family, was to make the move to Missouri to start on this heart wrenching journey of supporting her through this disease.
It was a hard and huge decision for me, since Mom and I were never in my mind “close” and it probably took me longer than it should have, but I decided to make the move. In that decisive moment, the hope of grabbing onto any last minute moments and memories with Mom and perhaps feeling closer to her, as well as being there for my family, was the motivation. It has been an emotional and ever changing 9 year journey this far.
I hope that our experiences of going through Alzheimer’s with our mom will help you through the small and major decisions that come with this disease, but also most importantly remind you that you are not alone on this journey. We are here for you.