Over Easter Weekend we celebrated my daughter Amelie's Christening. Afterwards we had a luncheon at my parents' home in Asheville. Traditionally at these Boylan gatherings we end up with Van Morrison on the speakers and copious amounts of singing and dancing. My father grabbed my mother to shag/jitterbug as they always do but this time was different. My mother was lost. She just clung to my father and shuffled her feet. It was at this moment he realized his dance partner from the past 40 years no longer knew the steps.
I asked my father's permission to use this photo. It is pure and raw and emotional. This is what he lives with EVERYDAY. It is what my brother and I live with everyday; albeit from afar. This is why I devote so much time to helping the Alzheimer's Association. They are our lifeline. They provide us with support groups, events, networking and message boards. The people I have met through the Alzheimer's Association (and through blogging about this topic) are the most empathetic listeners to our story.
This will be my fourth year walking to End Alzheimer's in Charlotte. My mother has changed so much since her diagnosis in 2011. I would stay she is Still Barbara, like the movie "Still Alice", but she is not. I know that she is still here with us sometimes but the inner workings of her mind that made her so uniquely her are almost gone.
I ask that you join me in the fight against Alzheimer's. Every slipped fact or missed detail of my life sends me into panic mode that I will develop this dreaded disease. I don't want my children to go through what I am experiencing. I want to spoil my grandchildren. And I want my husband and I to enjoy our golden years.
My personal page is here. Please consider making a donation or walking with us.
Love,
Katharine, Beau and Robin (and all that love BB)