Alzheimer Diary

"The doctor tells me I have Alzheimer's." The truth of my husband's words shook our world. This is my diary written for a time during the ten years of his spiral into another space. I began writing to vent my frustrations, sometimes anger. After a year and a half of writing, that anger had turned to acceptance. As our relationship turned from mutuality to one-sided dependency, my emotions changed as well. My husband's core personality remained intact throughout. He did however become more childlike, requiring me to reclaim my maternal instincts. When Dave was settled in the living room watching the news, I would go to my office to write. The events of the day often lead me to the memories of our earlier life. Often too, those memories would be a springboard for others--those of my childhood. I soon began to realize our experience could be of help and comfort to those who are close to a loved one with this strange disease.