Facing Alzheimer's Together

Alzheimer’s means uncertainty about my family’s future, and my own. My grandmother lived well into her early 90s yet had dementia and was in a home. Luckily, she had my mother to look in on her and eventually bring grandma home for her last days. Having no children, I fear my own future and where I might end up and in whose care. On my husband’s side, his grandmother had Alzheimer’s. We can’t help but worry for Sean’s mom and know, like all people with parents, the importance of life discussions and planning for care as we all age.

My grandmother lived alone in upstate New York, while we lived in the West. She eventually entered a nursing home for better care. Unfortunately, my mom, an only child, had a life-long clashing relationship with her mother. I wonder if other families experience something like this. My mother says with dementia, her mother “stopped being mean to her.” If there is any positive experience of seeing a loved one in their later stages in life, it was seeing my mom finally able to love her mother back fully, without emotional fears of a clash. In the end, grandma moved in with mom and mom cared for her ’till her last breath.

I am a 16-time Emmy-winning news anchor in Los Angeles at Fox 11 News, and best known for our Wednesday’s Child segment showcasing children in foster care in need of adoptive homes. In years past I have participated in the walk4ALZ.

My passions include empowering my “young peeps”, young people I mentor. We are a loose group we call Team WC – We Can West Coast. We’ve spoken at Juvenile Hall, decorated rooms for girls at a crisis center, entertained at Children’s Hospital. Many of “my peeps” are into the arts so I’ve supported them with photo shoots, music videos, and performance opportunities. The greatest joy is connecting with youth once on Fox 11’s Wednesday’s Child segment. One former foster youth is now modeling and I’m like a “stage mom” sharing in his journey!