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This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Lauren Dykovitz.  Lauren is a writer, author, wife, and dog mom.  She became a family caregiver when her mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in July 2010 when Lauren was only 25.  Lauren started the Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s blog and social media pages to document her journey and share her experiences.  She has written two books, and last year started offering online mentoring services for Alzheimer’s daughters.  Lauren has made it her mission to help others on their caregiving journey and shares the following:

• The journey can be difficult, isolating, and hard to accept.
• Memory issues are not the only symptom of Alzheimer’s.  Other things like having problems doing things they have always done, becoming withdrawn and less talkative, and vision problems can be signs too.
• The diagnosis can feel like death because the relationship you knew or hoped for will never look that way.
• Put the focus on your loved one and try to make them happy and bring joyful moments into their life.
• Be mindful and live in the moment.
• Connecting over the shared bond is powerful.  The more you share your story and talk about it, the more you realize you are not alone.
• To connect with Lauren, you can find her on social media and at her website at https://lifeloveandalzheimers.com/.  You can find her books on Amazon.