Our Hallmark Hero

After my mother passed away in July of 2004, my father started showing signs of dementia. While we originally thought his behavior we new, we looked back over the last year or so and discovered that the signs had been present since about 2002. The loss of my mother, his wife of 40 years, seemed to magnify the illness and my sister Kathy and I took it upon ourselves to help him. For several months, Kathy and I would alternate nights spending our dinner hour with dad. He was still high functioning for several months and we felt as if he could care for himself in his home. In the spring of 2005, his dementia became more pronounced when he would let the dog out and forget to let her back inside and he would have difficulty remembering to do day-to-day tasks. Dad went to spend the weekend with Kathy and never left. He has been living with her since May of 2005 and was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease about the same time.

Living with someone with Alzheimer's Disease is not easy. Kathy has done an amazing job taking care of my father and making sure that each day is filled with caring and happiness. Two years ago, she started a daily blog that shows the positive side of caring for someone with Alzheimer's. She looks for the brighter side and shares her experiences and her "tricks" with thousands of faithful readers. While the blog was great for sharing stories, people would comment that there were few sites on the Internet for caregivers of people living with dementia. Kathy and my sister Nancy decided to start a Web site called KnowItAlz, where people could not only get their daily dose of humor, but also get more information about different kinds of dementia. It has become a valuable resource for many people.

Recently, Kathy has been named a Hallmark Hero and was featured on the Hallmark Heroes with Regis Philbin that aired on Christmas night. The show will be aired a few more times over the next week. We are so proud of Kathy and the things that she has accomplished in the last couple of years. Most importantly, my father is spending his 80th year surrounded by people who love him and care for him.