Tag Archives: Navigating Alzheimer’s
Is It Normal Aging?
What It’s Like Your husband went out to run some routine errands and said he would be back in an hour. Four hours later he calls from a clerk’s phone at a convenience store across town. He doesn’t know where he’s been or where he is. This is not the first time, and it will […]
Walking Away from Alzheimer’s Disease
We are counting down the days to the Alzheimer’s Association Walk in my area. I’ll be walking again in honor of my husband, Marshall Brodien, who passed away this past March. I truly do appreciate all who support me and the rest of us who get out there. More than 5.7 million Americans are diagnosed […]
Paying the Managed Care Tab
Providing safe, healthy, loving care for our loved one with Alzheimer’s disease often ultimately means moving them to a care facility. When our loved one’s needs are beyond what one person can provide, a team of caregivers is required. Making that decision is heart wrenching. We begin this path with the full intention of providing […]
The Alzheimer’s Teacher
Loving a spouse with dementia for decades comes with tremendous heartache. The treacherous path that must be tread requires steady, patient, and unstoppable footing as well as a thick skin. But through this journey, I’ve also gained some wisdom. Here are a few things I’ve learned from loving a spouse with Alzheimer’s: (If you’ve read […]
What Happens Next?
The path of Alzheimer’s is a downward slope. As of now, there is no cure, and there’s no getting better. As much as we understand that, it’s human nature to stop periodically and wonder what we can expect to happen next with our loved one. Most often, the answer is the same. No one can know for sure. […]
How Do You Know?
One of the most common questions I’m asked is how did I know something was wrong with my husband? How did I know it was Alzheimer’s disease? The red flag for me was the change in personality. Marshall is a happy, easy going guy. He always was, and thankfully, has been again since we figured […]
Vanishing Act
You may have read in earlier posts on my blog, Midwest Mary, how my husband and I met. I was a freelance feature writer for the Chicago Tribune and wrote a story on magician Terry Evanswood. Terry gave me Marshall’s name as a reference. I interviewed Marshall over the phone for that article, and then […]
Caregiver Responsibilities
One of the greatest worries for family members with a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease is the possibility of no longer being able to care for them at home. The last thing we want is to move our spouse, parent, or sibling to a memory care home. It can feel as if we failed them by […]
No Place Like Home
The saying is that there is no place like home. Home is a haven where we can kick off our shoes, remove our make-up, and get comfy under a blanket on the couch. But what if you never felt at home, always longed for that security, and couldn’t ever find it? That is how it is for most […]
Mary K. Doyle 
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