Doing what she can to help others

When I was a kid growing up in small-town Iowa, my mom was my rock. I will always have fond memories of sitting on my mother’s lap after coming home from school, listening to her read to me. She had a wonderful sense of humor, and never lost it … not even as Alzheimer’s disease began to change her world.
 
We first started noticing some issues with her memory in 2006 during her chemotherapy for colon cancer — we thought it was just “chemo brain.” But the issues persisted long after her cancer was cured. Every time I visited, I noticed more changes as Alzheimer’s set in. I knew my dad, and our whole family, would need some extraordinary help.
 
The Alzheimer’s Association was there when we needed them. I attended support groups, went to seminars on legal and financial planning and met others facing this terrible disease. Thanks to the Association’s extensive chapter network and their online resources, my dad and I were able to care for my mom until her death in 2015 at the age of 82. I will forever cherish the time I had with her — and with my dad — during her final months.
 
I can never thank the Association enough for all they gave our family. But I want to do what I can to ensure other families have the same help I was blessed to receive. And one day, I hope no family has to face the challenges of Alzheimer’s. So, I decided to name the Alzheimer’s Association as a beneficiary of my retirement account.
 
Naming the Association as a beneficiary was really easy to do — I just updated the form with my retirement plan. It feels good knowing that my gift will help families like mine find hope over their despair.