A Family Disease

Meet Joe. Since early in his life, Joe’s family meant everything to him. He cherished moments with his grandkids and passing on his love of woodworking to his grandson. He looked forward to watching their futures unfold and all the gifts they came with.

But as Joe aged, his family noticed a change. Although he appeared “well,” his mind wasn’t as sharp as it had once been. Concerned, Joe’s wife, Kelly, called the helpline for Alzheimer’s

Orange County (AlzOC). Once the AlzOC team learned about Joe, they recommended a local neurologist. Shortly afterward, Joe was given a formal diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Receiving the diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is a difficult thing to process for anyone, as there is no cure. The best thing to do at this point is to get educated, get support and learn how best to manage the journey ahead.

Kelly and her daughter began caregiving classes at AlzOC. They also taught the grandkids about Caring Conversations, a lesson they learned from AlzOC about how important it is to see the world through Joe’s perspective and how to make sure he feels loved and cared for—even beyond words.

After Joe’s 69th birthday, things progressed rapidly, and he became nonverbal. The family enrolled in AlzOC’s Our Gang support group, and Kelly and her daughter also learned how to keep Joe’s spirits up through the Family Caregiver Strategies program.

Sadly, Joe is no longer here to watch his family grow—but never once did his family give up on him.

Kelly credits a part of their success to AlzOC.

“Without my Alzheimer’s Orange County family, thiswould’ve been nearly impossible. They werethere to pick up the pieces when we didn’t know where to go next. They helped us keep our Joe safe and our family intact.”