Monday, August 8, 2011

Still Alice

My mom asked all of our family to read the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova since she was diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer's Disease at age 50 and it's taken me up until now (3 years) to actually read it because I figured it was going to be a really hard book to read.....and no surprise, it was. I pretty much cried through the whole thing and I can't say I came away with "aha" moments but I do think it gave me a little insight into maybe how my mom is feeling living with this disease. But if our family has learned anything from this disease it's how to be supportive of my mom, and I believe we are, 110%. Yes I get angry sometimes and wonder why, but then so does she and the rest of our family, and honestly who doesn't think that with whatever they're going through. I will say that my mom is the most positive person I know and even though she's living with Alzheimer's I still think she's holding our family together through her optimism. And of course my dad who takes care of her. This disease is heartbreaking but it's comforting to know she is loved unconditionally by my dad.

On a lighter note, we went to the horse races on Friday night and it was so fun! Both Porter and I had never been before and I felt like we were in a scaled down version of Seabiscuit or Secretariat. We learned how to bet on horse racing.....and how to lose. They had a small petting zoo and Harrison loved it. It was so fun to watch him with the animals.





And some more fun pictures of the weekend.
 Harrison loves to look at books

 Bird central outside our door

 Exploring at the pool

 Such a cute sleeper!!

 He loves the shower.....he cries whenever it's time to get out

My boys, my white husband and my super tanned boy!

Feeding the ducks


2 comments:

Melissa said...

I cried the whole time too!!! Then when I saw your mom after I read it I just gave her a big hug...such a compelling story!

Anonymous said...

Just reading about the book and the effect it had, I could have bawled for you. I'm so sorry about the struggles, but it really seems that you have a hold on what's going on. We'll definitely be keeping your family in our prayers.
And don't even worry. I'm starting to feel better. My pink eye is gone, and my leg is on the mend. Sort of. =)