I want to tell you how much I miss my mother. Bits of her are still there. I miss her most when I’m sitting across from her. Candy Crowley, Broadcast Journalist
The month of November is known as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. President Ronald Reagan made that designation in 1983. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, at that time there were less than two million people with the disease. Through the years that number has grown to 5.8 million. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 14 million.
As I was researching for my book, MOM’S GONE, NOW WHAT? I learned many facts about Alzheimer’s as I read articles and interviewed daughters who had lost or were losing their mothers to this horrific disease. During this time, I had the honor of interviewing, Allie, a young daughter whose mother, Annette, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age forty-seven when Allie was eleven. Allie’s mother died in May, she was fifty-six.
If you live in the Chicago, IL area or have access to channel WTTW, watch “Too Soon To Forget: The Journey of Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease” on Sunday, November 3 at 1:00 pm or Friday, November 8 at 3:30 am. Allie and her family are featured in this program.
Affirmation: I care about those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and their families.
Coaching request: If you know someone who is caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s, offer to help them with a meal or an everyday chore. Take time this month to educate yourself about Alzheimer’s disease.
Annette M. Wheat 11/25/63-5/11/19
Life after losing a mother 