'Til Death Do Us Part

This heart-breaking love story will enlighten and offer support to those who struggle with the brutality and inevitability of Alzheimer's Disease. Readers will identify with the compassion of one care giver in comparison with the brutality of the disease itself. When I think of who my mother was in her prime, and who she became in the end, it's like imagining two different people. She too was a graduate from nursing school in 1943. Care giving was natural for her. She came from a large family of seven children who worked hard on their farm to make ends meet. She helped provide for the family and took care of her younger siblings. She enjoyed working in the hospital and felt at ease among the halls of medicine. She never would have wanted her life to become so dependent upon others but unfortunately, her nurturing role was reversed. My father stepped into the role of care giver for 15 years as she helplessly became the unwilling recipient. My greatest hope for today is to spread awareness of the disease and support extensive research for the promise of a cure once and for all.