PASSION ON STERIODS          By Lori La Bey

Thirty years of experience has paved the way for me to teach you and others like you what I have larned.  What I believe in.  What I refer to as my PASSION ON STERIODS:  ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE.

I remember vividly at the age of 13, on a beautiful summer day my Great Aunt Mary, did not know who I was anymore.  I sobbed for two weeks straight, searching for answers to the pain I felt.  How could she not know me anymore?  What did I do so wrong that she hates me this much?  How could she just wipe me from her mind, her heart, her soul while still knowing others?  

The pain of feeling wiped out of her life, can still make me cry.  Like I had died in her eyes.  At the age of thirteen, I did not understand.  The standard answers to my questions back then, were not enough to satisfy me.  “Lori, it’s just what happens when people get old,” or “Some people get senile as they age Lori, they just go crazy,” or “It’s not your fault honey.  You didn’t do anything wrong.”   I remember the blank stare of my Great Aunt’s eyes as she looked at me.  Almost as if she was looking through me, like I did not even stand before her.

Ironic as it is, my Mother who tried her best to explain memory loss to me back then, has been living with Alzheimer’s disease herself over 20 years, and has had memory problems almost 30 years.  My Mom is 81 years old as of this writing.  Over half of my life I have repeatedly said good-bye, and let go as pieces of my Mother disappeared before my eyes.

I did not see this connection at the time, but I have awakened to my role, to see things clearly.  My interest in the elderly has always been strong, keen, energizing me, giving me purpose.  I saw things, heard things, felt things differently than most.  I analyzed and developed programs and materials to assist seniors; most of my life.  Addressing Alzheimer’s disease is a natural fit.