05/11/2025
Happy Mother’s Day! To honor my mother, Im raising funds for the Nashville's Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer's® on November 8, 2025. The walk is the largest event to raise funds and awareness for the care, support and research of Alzheimer's and other dementia related conditions. 💜
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My mother's journey is one of resilience, love and heartache. Her's was not a gradual decline. It hit suddenly due to numerous TIAs and strokes each made her dementia worse. Within a year of her first TIA, she went from my strong as nails mother helping me through a difficult divorce to not remember me or her grandchildren.
At that time I had spent most of my career in senior living helping other families through the difficult journey. I did trainings about ALZ and dementia to numerous employees and family members. I saw first hand the heartache and devastation it did to the person and the family. I remember thinking how lucky I was to be able to learn and training others about ALZ, in case I ever had to go through it as a daughter. What I soon experienced is there is absolutely nothing that can prepare you for it happening in your family. I struggled first with "why her, why now". I needed her to help me with through a divorce, working and caring for 2 small girls (5 and 18 months) by myself. Instead, I quickly had to shift roles to become her caregiver, a reversal neither of us was prepared for. I remember coming home from the hospital and crying uncontrollably for hours asking God why? I need her! It was then that I remembered my mother had suffered endless physical and mental abuse by my father so my brother and I didn't grow-up needing for anything. She sacrificed everything and now it's my turn for her. She passed away October of 2008 and was laid to rest in her hometown of Mission,Texas along the US/Mexico border. She was lovingly known by everyone as "Lolly". I and my daughters still honor our Mexican heritage, which she was so proud of, in every aspect of lives. I have comfort in knowing she is watching over us everyday. We love and miss her!