During nearly a decade-and-a-half with this labor of love journey caring for Mom we learned an incredible amount of information, we encountered challenges and had some triumphs too. We want to share the information and lessons that we’ve learned along the way with others who are just beginning this journey, those already on the path, and those reaching the last stages of the disease.

​

We’d known for several years that Mom’s memory was slipping, but it took a while to truly understand the depth and magnitude of the issues and the disease. In 2008 Willie Mae was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. She fought mightily for over a decade, but she passed away due to Alzheimer’s complications in November 2019.

​

Our maternal grandmother, Bessie Mae Fields, died from complications from Alzheimer’s Disease in 2000. For several years our mother, Willie Mae, and her two sisters were Grandma’s caregivers. It was a long, grueling, challenging experience for them with little information available and no funding to help.