Introduction & Background

This is a collection of stories about laughing through our tears.  We're 3 sisters who's mom & stepmom has recently figured out her diagnosis of Alzheimer's, or her "condition" as she refers to it.  Lisa, the oldest sister, lives near Charlotte & became a part of our mom's life when she was 10 years old.  Jennifer, the middle sister, lives near Charleston, which is the farthest away, & is a stay at home mom to 2 young children. Allison is the youngest & lives near Spartanburg, about 30 minutes away from our mom.  She works part-time & has 3 very active boys. 

Our mom just turned 66 this past December. We've known for years that something wasn't right, but it took us awhile to convince her she needed to see a doctor.  We finally got her to the doctor for her "headaches" & started medicine for dementia about 2 & 1/2 years ago.  The doctor tried to discuss the memory issues with mom, but she just shut down.  Last summer, Lisa finally found a doctor who was a much better fit for our mom.  We got an official diagnosis of Moderate Dementia, but once again, mom shut down when the topic of memory issues came up.  She went back to the doctor early in December 2011, & this time we got the official diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

A couple of weeks ago, she seemed to start putting things together.  She started crying a lot & mentioning that she felt like she was going crazy.  Then one day, she connected that it was Alzheimer's.  We don't know how.  Maybe it was from a commercial on tv, or she saw a paper with something on it at the house, but however she came to know, it has definitely been a huge blessing for our family.  First and foremost, it means she has had some clarity.  Secondly, we don't have to tiptoe around & its been a lot easier to get the resources we need in place to help her.  Lisa & Allison met with the local Alzheimer's Association in Spartanburg, which was a huge help.  We then all met up on Friday, & went with our mom & dad to the Association again so they could get questions answered & suggestions for resources & "to do's" that would help our mom, as well as our dad. 

The biggest lesson we have learned is that you have to laugh to get through the tears.  So here are our stories of laughing through our tears.....