Do You Want to Be Right or Have Peace?

One night I was helping Ed, my Romanian life partner of 30 years, pay his bills. He’d been showing signs of dementia and always needed assistance with that task. Unfortunately, I put the stamp on an envelope a little askew. When Ed noticed, he lost it. “Marie,” he hollered, putting his glass of vodka down forcefully and slamming his fist on the table. “Look what you did. It’s crooked. You r-r-ruined a perfectly good stamp!” “Ed,” I said loudly, caught off guard and angered by his outburst, “It doesn’t matter. The post office doesn’t care if it’s on straight. They

Driving Progress in 2017

In the United States, a change of administration always brings uncertainty. With new leaders entering Congress and the White House, we at WomenAgainstAlzheimer's (WA2) know we can turn that uncertainty into opportunity. Opportunity because we know finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and alleviating its burden on families can bring us together. WA2 is committed to continuing to lead a campaign to promote women’s brain health and fight against Alzheimer’s. 2017 is a critical year in our battle to stop Alzheimer’s in its tracks by 2020. We are confident in the progress we will make because we know that our passionate

Mixed Feelings

As a person who is living with Alzheimer’s, I have very mixed feelings about how I should talk about it. I have become an outspoken advocate in the dementia arena, but I feel like I am always at odds with so many. And it is sometimes hard for me to decide what my message should be. Should it be about living life to the fullest or all doom and gloom about the horrible disease? When I started my work as an advocate, I realized early on that if I painted too positive a picture of Alzheimer’s I would not get

Thankful

Last year, my husband, Jim, lost his 7-year battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was just 53 years old. It hurt to spend the holidays without him. But as I reflect on the most difficult year of my life, I’m filled with gratitude for all those who find the strength to keep fighting this devastating disease. I am thankful for those fighting so hard for critical research funding, including UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, and for researchers who are in the trenches trying to find a cure. It must get frustrating going to work each day when for every step forward it seems there

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Gift Ideas

When my mother was alive, every year as the holidays approached I found myself struggling to come up with gift ideas for her. She was living with Alzheimer’s, and I wanted to get something useful that she would enjoy. Not something that would end up in a drawer or closet never to be seen again. However, as her dementia progressed, the options dwindled, requiring more and more creativity. The good news is that in recent years, there’s been an increase in items designed specifically with dementia-related needs in mind. In fact, a simple search on Amazon yields many great products