My mother, Wilma Timmons, was diagnosed with dementia in November 2019. We believe she exhibited symptoms before her diagnosis and that her condition was exacerbated by several falls. Our dementia journey was four and a half years, but it seemed like a lifetime sometimes. 

When a loved one is diagnosed with dementia, no one knows how long the journey may be, but everyone knows that those who suffer with dementia need all the help they can get.

The “long goodbye” is an arduous journey, for the person diagnosed with dementia, those who love that person, and the caregivers. Watching them go through the stages of decline and losing their autonomy and independence is heartbreaking. 

For most of the four and a half years of our journey, my mother was highly functional cognitively, but her body was no longer responsive to her desires to walk, crochet, feed herself, and, eventually, even communicate. This brought on severe depression marked by crying and losing the will to live at times. She was hyper aware of what she was no longer capable of, and no amount of encouragement could convince her that she was still a worthwhile human being.

I’ll be walking in memory of my mother who passed away July 3, 2024, others like her, and to support Alzheimer’s Association. Please consider supporting me or joining a “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” near you.

Gracias!