Louis Brood of Mount Laurel, NJ passed away at home on February 1, 2021, surrounded by his loving family with the song “Danny Boy” playing and a kitty curled against him. Lou…
I wrote the following caregiver narrative after being invited to share my story during the Reason To Hope breakfast hosted by my local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association on March 28, 2019.…
February 10th. My mother has been dead for a year. We all went for lunch this afternoon to one of her and Dad’s favorite places. When our check came my sister suggested…
I feel as if I’ve swallowed a pail of glass shards looking between these photos, trying desperately in my mind to piece back together the last 7 years. Alzheimer’s disease bestowed a…
Momma had another seizure this morning following 2 days of inconsolable, raving hallucinations. She’s been under hospice care the past 2 months and, until this event, had been showing signs of improvement…
Dad tried telling me the other day that Momma was due for some medical appointments. He assured me this with such clarity and conviction, I believed for a fleeting moment that time…
It is hard to describe the early days of an Alzheimer’s sentence. A gentle fog rolls in and lingers for a while, deepening ever so gradually until one day you wake in…
The house is quiet but for the spring birds singing above the distant and continuous sigh of the highway. Momma’s bedroom door is ajar and I enter to find her lying so…
I looked back into my journal from this day last year. My mother had been dead for just over 4 months and I was still thrashing beneath the weight of my grief.…
Ever since they were boys, my father and his brother Sam worked side-by-side 6 days a week running the family upholstery shop. A. Brood & Sons. That store was the lifeblood of…
Last Christmas I poured my heart into finding us the most beautiful wreath. It was our only decoration that year and all I could bear as I witnessed my mother slowly dying.…
Dad and I both woke up irritable this morning. He wasn’t interested in his breakfast and I always feel a little anxiety when this happens as I watch him push the muffin…
Today I am celebrating my first birthday without my momma. There are so many things I want to tell you about the last 3 months but for now I’ll keep it simple – I…
