My mom died of Alzheimer’s in 2019 and it was one of the worst things I have ever experienced in my life.  Not just because she died but how she died.  Alzheimer’s affects all members of the family.  Even though my sister was with her the most I watched from another state and talked to her daily and FaceTimed and watched her die in my own kind of hell.  It’s a horrible disease because unlike a sudden death you have to watch your parent or loved one slowly deteriorate and eventually die.  One of the worst days of my life was in June 2018 when my mom came to visit us in Colorado, she lived and died in Southern California.  My husband picked her up from the airport and brought her to our house.  I hugged her and said, “Hi mom”.  We sat on the couch and talked for a little bit and I kept calling her mom and she said, “Why do you keep calling me mom?”.  I was shocked and told her that I call her that because she is my mom.  She insisted that I was lying so I got out my drivers license that has the same last name as hers.  I even got out my birth certificate and showed it to her which she stated, “well that is certainly my signature but you are not my daughter”.  My heart shattered and I choked back the tears.  I started naming houses we lived in, major events in our life and she got really upset saying, “why are you doing this to me?  I have a daughter named Shannon but she lives in Colorado”.  I tried over and over to explain to her that I was that little girl she used to rock to bed but she kept fighting me saying I was trying to trick her. Part of my heart died that day.  Alzheimer’s is a terrible beast that robs you of the one you love.  She regressed from being the top selling Real estate agent in Southern California to acting childlike and even spoke in a Childs voice.   All within a two year span.  The experts say from diagnosis to death is usually 7 years but for my mom it only took two years.  She went fast and hard. The worst thing about Alzheimer’s is that the person you love the most doesn’t recognize you at all and you entire past with them has been erased.  Then you have to wait for them to die.  The muscles in the body deteriorate and my mom began having trouble swallowing.  She had 24 hour care at her house but it didn’t matter because she eventually starved to death because nobody could get food in her.  She became literally and figuratively a shell of herself.  She went 7 days without food or water.  It is sad to say but at the end my sister and I were begging her to die. The Medical community has NO cure for Alzheimer’s at this point.  They suggest that you keep your brain “busy” by learning new languages or doing puzzles and avoiding sugar?!  That is not a cure.  It may be preventative but I watched my sweet mommy become almost mute just laying in bed until she finally died, hopefully in peace.  What a loss.  A brilliant brain eaten away by a monster that we don’t understand.  I HATE ALZHEIMER’S!  And now I pray that I don’t get it.  No child should see their parent evaporate and not recognize them. She was 76 years old. I love you mommy. Shan