Smiling from ear to ear

Blog for Living With My Alzheimer's – Smiling from ear to ear

February 2020

I cannot begin to say what an amazing week I recently had - it really was so much more than I could have hoped for. So, here goes.

Some of you already know that my daughter, Zoë, was born and raised in London, and I don't mean London, Texas. She still lives and works there, while I'm here in Salem, Massachusetts. Anyway, she flew over for a whirlwind visit, arriving on a Sunday morning. Her timing was perfect, as that afternoon I launched the Alzheimer's Test Kitchen. We had a great turn out, so good in fact that we had to turn some people away, but invited them to join us the following week.

And there was also a surprise for her at my apartment, on the table. I’d laid out a copy of the Salem Gazette, and on the front page was a photo of her mother, below the headline about a Salem resident fighting Alzheimer's. It had even surprised me. I’d known the article was due to be published, having been interviewed for it, but it hadn’t occurred to me they’d put me on the front page. In fact, not just the front page, but also ‘the fold’. It couldn't get any better than that; it was so cool, and while I never expected it, I was very proud of it, and intend to build on it.

Anyway, Zoë and I agreed the best thing we could do with the time she was here was to get together as many of my doctors and others who are helping me as possible in the relatively short amount of time we had so she could get a clearer understanding about what my life is like here, and my doctors’ thoughts on how we move forward as well as what might be on the horizon. It was brilliant, and I appreciated that everyone was so forthcoming.

For their part, the doctors bent over backwards, as they say, given the limited time and short notice, for which I was very grateful. It showed me how much all these people are helping me, and how much time and effort they continue to give to keep me in my own home. I'm able to live the best life I can, and right now it's looking mighty good. I'm very happy about that.

I'm quite sure I can make it work, make it happen, one way or another. Zoë's help when I need it is seeing me through, and I try very hard to do the same for her. I am painfully aware of how hard all this is; no one wants to see their parents in situations that were never expected. So I do my best to make it as easy for her as I possibly can. Which is also good for my brain. And it keeps me going. It keeps me going.

My pride in Zoë was there for all to see, and as I've said before, she deserves it.

My Alzheimer's doesn't own me, I own it.

Avante!