On June 15th we went to the Banner Alzheimer Institute to meet with a Doctor about Scott's memory loss that has continued to get worse for the last six months. I knew what was going to be said but felt like we couldn't move on until the words were actually spoken. After a 45 minute assessment with an nurse, the doctor came in and spent another 45 minutes with us talking about more specific questions and an evaluation of the test results. He said that Scott definitely has Alzheimer's but his case is an anomaly because in much of the testing he did really well. That didn't surprise me because I am often amazed at the grasp of knowledge he shares with us. And yet, at times he can't remember where our bedroom is or where we are when we drive around Victorville. This is unique because we have lived here for over 30 years. What a blessing it was that we were able to serve a mission and even more amazing to me is that in spite of occasional memory issues he did such a great job until the very end. On our way home from Arizona after we had completed our mission we were able to listen to the funeral services for Nancy Reagan. President Reagan had Alzheimer and Nancy was his primary caregiver for many years. In talking about his story she described his Alzheimer's as the "long good-bye" and I shed a few tears thinking about how true that is. Each day I do realize another part of him is gone from me and yet I am grateful that he is still standing close by. I don't know how much time we will spent dealing with this but I can express gratitude that whatever comes we will be in it together.
