Has someone you care about been diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer’s?
Tara and George Reed – August 2012
In 2012 my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As we looked back, his symptoms of memory issues, personality changes and more began 8-10 years before that.
It was scary, overwhelming and confusing – feelings you have probably had if you are reading this.
One of the first things my family and I tried to figure out was “What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s?”
It felt like the two words were used interchangeably.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association: Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer’s is a specific disease. Dementia is not.
Why I created this website
My dad was a college professor and instilled a love of learning in me from an early age. I’m the kind of person that wants to understand how things work (the details!) and I feel better with a plan.
As a way to feel more in control of an uncontrollable situation, I started to learn as much as I could about dementia and Alzheimer’s.
What should we be doing to help my dad now and what did we need to do to plan for the future? How could we support each other as we navigated what is commonly referred to as “the Alzheimer’s Journey”.
As I searched for answers for myself and my family, I created this website in the hopes of helping others too.
I am an artist. A daughter. A wife. A mother. A sister.
I am like you – a person whose life was turned upside down when my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Every 65 seconds, someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s.
- Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, the 6th leading cause of death and the ONLY cause of death in the top 10 that is not preventable or curable.
- The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that there are approximately 6.2 million people in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s – 2/3 of those are women.
- One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
- Globally, the World Health Organization estimates approximately 44 million people have Alzheimer’s. These numbers will grow exponentially as the population ages.
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Watch the video below to see the impact Alzheimer’s has on the entire family…
(This video was created less than a month before George Reed passed away…)