HELP US SHARE MITZI’S STORY
I’ve always considered my time with Mitzi to be part of a greater calling…my “assignment,” as I’ve always referred to it. I have been Mitzi’s sidekick for 3 years now, and very early on, I knew there was a greater purpose in our being paired up together. 3 years ago, I was on staff at my church and part of my job was to help share stories through videos and pictures. Mitzi’s story is so very unique. While there are nearly 6 million people living with Alzheimer’s Disease in the US, only approximately 200,000 have the Early-Onset version of the disease, showing symptoms younger than age 65. When Mitzi was diagnosed at 54, she and her husband had a son just entering college and a daughter in high school. While many of their friends were making retirement plans and booking cruises around Europe, they were faced with labeling the dresser drawers and finding foods that didn’t require the use of the stove. Mitzi’s daughter learned to drive not long before Mitzi willingly surrendered her own driver’s license.
Mitzi’s sister, Angela, was a close friend of mine, and when Mitzi was no longer able to drive, she knew that would have a tremendous impact on her sister’s world. Always the social butterfly, Mitzi had been a cheerleader in high school, (she was even crowned Homecoming Queen!), and had a lifelong roster of friends near and dear to her heart that the isolation of Alzheimer’s threatened to keep her from. I offered to pick her up once a week to help get her out and about. That quickly turned into us spending 5-6 days a week together and resulted in one of the most treasured friendships I’ve ever been blessed to have.
Mitzi refused to let Alzheimer’s erase her from this world. She didn’t let herself get embarrassed by it and never wanted to hide at home or feel sorry for herself. So we spent each day setting out on a new adventure, looking for ways to be helpful to others, and always making time to spend with her cherished friends and family. Mitzi repeatedly told me that she knew there was a reason she “got picked to have this disease” and that God had a reason for every day that she was still here. My job became helping her find that purpose in our days. In 2018, Mitzi and her family generously gave me their blessing to start chronicling our days together to help show the world that Alzheimer’s doesn’t have to be a dead end diagnosis unless you let it. Through Mitzi’s courage in allowing her story to be shared, hundreds and hundreds of people have been inspired by her incredible strength, tremendous faith, and undaunted spirit. While this disease is undoubtedly winning the war over Mitzi’s mind, we refuse to let her memory and her legacy be erased.
We are so excited that Mitzi’s story has caught the attention of the Alzheimer’s Association, and we are thrilled to partner with them in this year’s Walk To End Alzheimer’s on November 16 in Jacksonville. If your life has been touched by Alzheimer’s Disease, or by Mitzi’s journey, please consider pledging your support to help us reach our goal in her honor. So far, there have been 0 survivors of Alzheimer’s Disease. Mitzi would so love to know that her life was used to help make the future for those facing this disease brighter…
Please share!http://act.alz.org/goto/movingforwardformitzi
