My wife, Nancy Mickiewicz, died of Alzheimer’s on Aug. 22, 2022. We were married for 39 years. For six of those years, I was her caregiver after she was diagnosed in January 2016.
Alzheimer’s didn’t just steal her memory, it stole her ability to speak, to eat, to walk, and eventually, to recognize the people she loved. I watched the woman I married disappear in front of me. She would scream at night, lash out in fear, and cry uncontrollably. I did everything I could to care for her at home, but Alzheimer’s is relentless. It broke both of us.
In January 2022, I made the heartbreaking decision to move Nancy into a long-term care facility. I had nothing left to give, and she needed more care than I could provide. I witnessed firsthand the staggering toll on my family — and on the system: multiple facilities, emergency services, hospital stays, and around-the-clock supervision.
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Millions more Americans will face this devastating diagnosis each year. Yet now, federal funding cuts are threatening the very medical institutions working to prevent, slow, and cure Alzheimer’s.
The emotional and financial burden on families across the country will only grow. We quite literally cannot afford to cut Alzheimer’s research funding.
Monica Whitaker
Independence, Missouri
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