Celebrating 500 Miles — Walking Through Grief Alone
A tribute to my mother — watching resilience flourish during pandemic anguish
About a year ago we all became aware that the pandemic was real and would affect us in ways none of us could have imagined. Little did we know, the year would be a pilgrimage into the disconnected unknown. But for my mom, this reality hit home at the most difficult transition point in her life just as she was dealing with her husband of 60 years (my dad) who had Alzheimer’s.
Dad’s Alzheimer’s worsens
By January 2020, mom’s devoted care for him had crossed into the epic realm as she faithfully followed a strict protocol to prolong their life together, religiously following the advice of Dr. Bredesen, a well-known doctor of neurodegenerative disease who wrote the book The End of Alzheimer’s.
The protocol was complicated and required much diligence, including special testing, a host of supplements taken at various times of the day, a strict exercise regimen, a greatly restricted diet, proper dental care, enough sleep. She followed it all to the letter, easily adding a full-time job onto her already full-time job of taking care of not only the household but also the yard and all the bills, which previously had been my father’s domain.
