Sherrill Temple is my mom and in her late 60's she was diagnosed with dementia (Alzheimer's). I am her daughter and primary caregiver, and have been taking care of her for what will be 9 years in Jan. 2016. She had no doctor, no life insurance, very little health insurance, no will, and not a clue why she needed these things. There was something seriously wrong, this was not the mom I knew. No one stepped up to help my mom except me, and I was on my way back to Kansas City after going back to school at 40 and getting two degrees.
Taking care of my mom, long term, was not in the plan. I was trying to give myself a better shot at life as I was getting older...that was the plan. But I had watched my mom work 2 and 3 jobs my entire young life so my brother and I could have everything. The way I saw this situation is that my mom had earned her placed in this world, and it became clear that she was going to lose the house and everything she had ever known, and that my brother could not be counted on.
To be put in a home or assisted living, was not the answer for my mom, I believed she deserved to be a home that has been in our family for almost 100 years. This is where she belongs and it was her ONLY request. I have done everything to make sure that she is safe, and cared for in an environment that she knows. But this was not without sacrifice and loss on my part as family and caregiver. But personally, I could not just walk away.
There is nothing in this for me, except to know I did the right thing when it mattered. My grandfather had Alzheimer's too, and there is every chance that I will have this disease as well. There is an answer...solution...cure to this disease, and we must never stop searching for it.
Elkhart, IN
