The Impact of Young Onset Alzheimer’s
Kevan Atteberry discusses his fundraising work for the Pacific Northwest Walk to End Alzheimer’s. His efforts honor his wife Teri, once an active soccer player and runner who was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s when she was 52 year’s old.
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*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.
The following podcast is provided by care partners, living and answers for elders radio. And Welcome back everyone to answers for elders radio. And we are here with an amazing guest today and I want to introduce all of you on this very special weekend as we are focusing on the Alzheimer’s walk that is happening in our great city of Seattle, and our number one fundraiser is Mr Kevin Adaberry, and Kevin, welcome to thank you very much. Yeah, I know you’re here in our studio. We’re prerecording, but right now at while we’re doing the program you’re out walking with your team and certainly hope so. Yes, and certainly you guys have done some amazing fundraising and it’s all based on the story of your wonderful wife, Terry, and I am so honored that you’re here to share the story. Thank you very much. So your wife is was diagnosed with what they call young onset Alzheimer’s. Correct tell us a little bit about what makes that unique. What makes it unique is that, first of all, to qualify as as young on set, anybody understood that gets Alzheimer is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Under sixty five is considered young on set and but you see a lot of people in their s are I mean s and some of the S, and I know of cases in the S, were Alzheimer’s. Yeah, and my my wife was fifty two and she was diagnosed. But we we’re pretty certain we could have diagnosed or at least two or three years earlier. There just was things happening and it finally became, you know, mandatory that we get our test it. She resisted it for a long time. Wow. And when we when we did, and it was about a six month process and we got the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, we were shocked because who’d ever heard of fifty two year old getting Alzheimer’s? Who had, you know, we’d never heard of young on set Alzheimer’s. We thought maybe it was a brain tumor or brain cancer or something like that. With, you know, if either one of those you would have had, you know, the minutest possibility of, you know, fixing it, but with alzheimers there’s just zero possibility. And when we know it was a death sentence and you know that she’s just going to you know, get get sicker and I’d have to place for some day, and eventually she died from Alzheimer’s, because otherwise she was an incredibly healthy human being. She played on a couple of soccer teams, she ran, she ate well, she did everything right. But you know, you know, I read your story you and I was so compelled to have you come in and I’m so grateful that you did. Thanks. Your story of how you supported Terry, your wife, touched my heart in so many ways and it really goes back to the struggles that families are facing, not only with seniors, but you know, we don’t talk a lot about on this show because obviously answers for elders. We talked about seniors, but the impact of a young person like your wife, because you have children on top of it. Yes, so they had to go through the process of a mom that’s supposed to guide them and lead them and all of a sudden there’s that dynamic as well. I was fortunate enough, sounds silly, I was fortunate that my kids were in their early twenties and I have plenty of friends who had young teenagers when their spouses were diagnosed. That is tough. My boys being in there in their early twenties, were nothing but support and help for me and with they were, they were amazing. That’s awesome. Yeah, that’s awesome. And yet, like you said, there’s families right now with young on set Alzheimer’s that have younger children. Yes, and that is a whole other piece. I’m sure that you know when you’re when you’re thinking about you know, what are the resources that you go to? It’s like, how do you make them understand the process and, you know, how does it impact a family nucleus when you’re dealing with something like that which, like you said, what’s the end game? And certainly the emotional upheaval that your family endured has to be incredible. Tell us a little bit about that story. Well, it I remember telling the boys when we got the diagnosis and that was difficult. They but they never blinked. I mean they just stepped up and that’s amazing. Yeah, they’re good, young I mean they are also part of my walk team and and you know, bringing a lot of money too, so that’s amazing. Yeah, they it was never it just never became an issue. I feel really fortunate because it never became an issue. Is Okay, this is what mom has. This is what we’re going to do. We did have a discussion, I can’t remember if it was as a family or not, but Terry and I certainly did, about what we want to do about this. Who Do we want to tell? M and I said immediately I think we should tell everybody. I think everybody should know the fact that everybody we did tell had never heard of young on set. All this, Mrs was very important to me and it became imperative that that I educate, I evangelize about it. It was just sounds like Terry was very open about yes condition, which is amazing to yes, she was. She was very open and she net me she had a few times where she is, you know, sad. She never got angry like like some people do, but she and and, but no, she she was joyful. She was always joyful. Wow. So I’m lucky that way. Yeah. So everyone, we are talking with Mr Kevin ad a berry and I want if your story touches your heart as much as it has mine, I hope you will go onto Al Zwa Dot Org and find team Terry add a berry. It’s atteberry and, you know, give them some support. Right now. They are the number one team that is out there that you raised now over I think last I look over, Fifty Thou fifty three thousand dollars is what it was. Is How much of you raised so far for the walk. I have I haven’t looked, but yeah, it’s we’re behind from last year, but here amazing. Yeah, you’re amazing and you know all the money that goes in to the Alzheimer’s Association. It supports research, it supports science and breakthrough science, things that are that you’re learning every single day, and it also gives a lifeline to families with a twenty four hour caroline with different types of pro support groups, programs, things like that. So we are hopeful that our listeners will step up and give a donation and either support a team, create your own team if there’s still some walks going to happen next month even into if you’re if you’re hearing this broadcasting, you want to be a part, or just totally give a donation and support the cause. It’s a very wonderful thing that we had answers for elders is are very proud to support, and so we’re really glad that, Kevin, you’re here now, since Terry has passed. She passed in two thousand and sixteen crown. Tell me a little bit about how that’s impacted your life as far as now. You’re a big crusader for alzheimers. I am, and and actually I was a big crusader before that and you know, we started walking. This will be my ten to walk. So and it was. It changed me in her death changed me in, you know, personal ways. I am I’m single again and I’m, you know, I’m doing the dating thing and but I also thought about this before she died and you know, when she was, you know, so you know, really towards the end and her dementia was just really almost impenetrable, I started, you know, I started thinking and planning on what my future was right and I’m still don’t know what it is, but I’m working on it. I think a lot of us, you know, when you go through a process like that, there’s this you know, you’re still focused on the person that you’re caring for sometimes that you know it’s good that you took the time to think about yourself. I think a lot of people that are in a caregiving role like you’ve been, they don’t think about themselves. Yeah, and I’d like to say one thing about that. When Terry was first diagnosed, I thought about myself and in the wrong way. I thought, Oh my God, look what’s happening to my life. That changed almost immediately. I said, this is not about you, Kevin, this is about Terry and excuse me. And I really didn’t. You know, I you know, I thought about the future, but it was more focused on Terry and until the last until I play turn a home, and in the last year and a half I started thinking about my life and I was I was kind of excited and anxious to get on with it. And then when she died and that that excitement kind of drifted away for a while. And sure, but not for long, and it got it came back. It takes a while. Yeah, I mean that’s I think I’m in it, you know. And the thing is that truly grieved for, you know, eight and half years. So by the time she did die, my I was pretty much grieved out. But you know, but you still have to take up take a minute. Well, and that’s the thing. It’s the long goodbye I’ve heard for so long that that’s, you know, really what it is. It’s like. It’s the shock. I think the most grief is up front, where you can actually share that with her. Watch her faculties are still with you and you’re both grieving and you’re both sad and your and yet you’ve done some things to turn to make a difference in the world, to find a cure and to do, you know, what you can to support the cause. Sure, and you’re amazing, amazing what you’ve been able to accomplish. So how have you you know, how’s your life changed now that obviously you’re looking forward to being single? And what all these things is? It’s obviously been three years since your wife passed away. It’s you know, you’re in a new chapter. Name I am in a new chapter and I’m actually exploring a lot of different things. I mean talk I’m thinking about, you know, what if I sold the House and moved? Or would I move? What would I do? I mean, I’m fortunately in a what I do for a living, I can I can do just about anywhere. So, you know, I have all these these opportunities and I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens next. So for all of you, I first of all, Kevin, I want to thank you for being on the programs. It’s so great that you took the time to be with us. Please go on in Support Team Terry at a berry. Go to a L ZWA DOT ORG and check out the walk, see what’s happening in the community and remember this. Over a hundred and twenty thousand Washington State residents are right now afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. We need to find a cure. This is a very, very important emergency that we do so, especially in this state because we have such a high, high rate of this disease. So, Kevin, thank you so much. Thank you very much. The preceding podcast was provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio. To contact care partners living, go to care partners livingcom
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Originally published September 29, 2019