I married into this family 33 years ago. I work in the medical field and know a lot about Alzheimers thru my job. Mark started to decline, he would not be able to remember something or a specific event. This is when everything started to go down hill. Dad/Mark would before this terrible disease stole his memory, would always say to me when we would get together "hey kid, how are you doing?" On one day when he had been admitted to the hospital, he kept asking me who I was... I knew from then on that we had lost him. Dad/Mark, loved to tell stories of when he was in the war and different places he had visited. The last few months were the absolute worse for him and us. He had to stay in a locked down unit at this nursing home, just so he would be safe. It broke my heart when he would cry when we had to leave for the day, he just sobbed and did not understanding why he could not come home. Dad/Mark developed pneumonia and was going down hill very fast...spent the last night with him at the nursing home. Listening to him struggle to breath was heart breaking, and the cries for his mom. Dad/Mark died November 26, 2012. I was not able to be with him when he took his last breath, but at least he was not in any pain anymore.. RIP Dad-miss you so much...

Anonymous
Noblesville, IN