FAMILY

FAMILY
I fight for a cure for me & our amazing children❤️

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Happy Birthday to me🥳

It’s April and the sun is shining and we are finally done with the rain. At least I hope we are done with the rain. We had a wet and rainy season and during those days I’m not able to drive and be as active as I like. So hopefully this sunshine will continue and my spirits will be lifted with outdoor activities! I’m also looking forward to my roses and all the beautiful colors in our backyard🌷

This weekend I was with my daughter and her fiancé in Novato. It’s been a busy work week for Bob and he’s been out of town, so spending time with them is much better than staying home alone! Especially because I got to be with their sweet doggy Celly. He’s such a sweet boy and I love laying with him and having sloppy ‘good morning’ kisses from him🐕

Last month I was at UCSF for the new Eli Lily clinical trial. Unfortunately I did not quality because I knew what season it was, what day it was and what city I was in!! Very frustrating but the good news is I’m going back at the end of the month to try again😀 I will do my best to forget what day it is and / or what the season is this time! The biggest determination is how much Tau I have in my brain. Those tests will happen in May and I will do my best to update all of you as things unfold. Being part of the solution and potentially the cure is extremely important me so I REALLY want to qualify for this clinical trial. Pray for me please🙏🏻

Yesterday I turned 64! Happy Birthday to me🥳 As I’ve gotten older I’ve tried my best to hide my age. I’ve never lied, but while I was working at Intel I certainly wasn’t telling my staff how old I was. Or my friends for that matter. Maybe they knew, maybe they didn’t care, but I didn’t want to be seen as an old lady. So I just kept things quiet. I even removed all my birthday data off of Facebook. How pathetic that seems now! But now things are different! Everyone knows how old I am, everyone knows how young I was when I started having symptoms, and as far as I can tell no one cares! They love me, they respect me and my age has nothing to do with it. What an idiot I was, I wish I would have been as loud and proud about my age as I am now about my diagnosis. I guess Alzheimer’s is making me wiser and more in the moment. I will take that as another blessing that has come my way.

My dancing buddies!
Earlier this month I had a fabulous time at our AIM Advocacy Forum in Washington, DC. The first night I was with one of my favorite new friends, Teresa Valko, from So Cal amd a bunch of amazing advocates from around the country. We danced and sang and had a blast cruising around on ‘The Spirit of the Potomac’. Such a great way to start the forum. I traveled with my good friend and fellow Alzheimer’s board member Karen Stevenson and even though we had to get up super early we had a good time. I’m so grateful for her support on these trips!
On our way to DC!

The event itself was filled with moving speeches, training on how to ask for support from our elected officials, and amazing people sharing their, or their families story of how Alzheimer’s has affected them. Bob wasn’t able to be there with me but I felt cared for and watched over by so many sweet friends.The only bad news was I got very ill on the last day and wasn’t able to travel to Capital Hill to speak with our representatives about the legislation we need their help with.  Not only that, but I was sick for almost two weeks. Thankfully that is all behind me now.

Harry Johns & the AIM Superstars

Since it’s my birthday month I plan on having as much fun as possible! Yesterday I had lunch with my girlfriend Andi who I’ve know since 6th grade! And I have a few other dates on the calendar so we will officially call this birthday month. I am grateful for all the love and the great excuse to see each other. We also have a family birthday Dinner planned with my daughter and her fiancé and my husband of course!

So that’s my update. I’m doing pretty well and definitely living well with Alzheimer’s! And I plan on continuing that for as long as I can!!

Thank you for all your support and prayers. Oh, and all the birthday wishes too❤️🎂❤️ God bless you all🙏🏼