The Journey Begins

What a journey this has already been and will continue to be.  If you have a family member who has been given this diagnosis, I urge you to find a support group.  The local Alzheimer's Association can provide you with information.  We are going to a support group provided in association with Alzheimer's and Emory.  We have finished week 3 and I am already sad that it is going to end in another 5 weeks.  Meeting with others and sharing your stories from the previous week will give you insight on what you can expect down this road of twists and turns.  I also suggest you read everything you can find out about the disease and being a care giver partner.  I am reading Learning to Speak Alzheimer's, by Joanne Koenig Coste.  I highly recommend it.  It will be something you can read over and over.   Journal your thoughts and things your loved one says.  Recently, I found out who my sister and I are named after--my mom's dolls.  I always knew that mom loved dolls but we had no idea why we were named what we are.  We have no relatives named Diane or Nancy but now I know that they were some of my mom's favorite doll names when she was a little girl.  In the early stages of Alzheimer's there are still LOTS of good days ahead.  I know that as we continue down this path many changes will come and as a family we will need to make adjustments on our pathway.  Thank you Lord for this time we have together.  Lynda Randle is one of my favorite Christian artist.  I hope these lyrics to "God On the Mountain" will encourage you on your journey. 

Life is easy when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known.
But then things change and you're down in the valley.
Don't lose faith for you're never alone.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes easy when life's at its best.
But it's down in the valley of trials and temptation
That's when faith is really put to the test.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

Every 70 seconds someone is diagnosed with Alzheimers

On February 2, 2011 our mom was diagnosed with this disease.  How did we miss the signs for so long?  It was (or so we thought) the gentle aging process and everyone forgets someones name or draws a blank on a word in a sentence.  I do and I am 20 years younger than my mom.  It is a disease that her father had and his mother had but it did not have a name back then.  Back then people 'lost their mind', only now do we have a name for this memory robbing disease--Alzheimer's.  There is no cure, just medications that MAY slow down the process.  In the 86,400 seconds today, there will be over 1000 people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  There will be at least that many caregivers thrown into a new role they did not ask for.  It not only effects the patient, but her husband, the children and their spouses, grandchildren, friends of the family and the list goes on.

The day our family received the news, God was already preparing me.  My daily devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministry was The Book of Days.  I guess I knew in my heart this would be our outcome as well but you never want to hear those words "your loved one has early stages of Alzheimer's".   We will blog about our journey of a family living with Alzheimer's.  We will have good days and bad days ahead but we know that God is on the throne and He is is control.   

"All the days ordained for me were written in
Your book before one of them came to be."
Psalm 139:16b (NIV)