Why This Resource?

A journey begins

In November 2019, my vibrant and vivacious mom, Sydney Dickinson, fell in her home and hit her head the day before I had a planned visit.

This began a journey down the path of Alzheimer’s (confirmed via autopsy when she passed). Likely her journey down this disease started a decade or more earlier (per her neurologist), but it simply became obvious to me at this time.

In early March 2020, just as the pandemic was becoming real, my mom fell again, this time resulting in a broken hip. She came to live with me in my home and our journey together began, along with my new role as a 24×7 caregiver.

I learned so much during this journey that I decided to share the lessons, tools, and resources with other caregivers to hopefully lighten their load.

Words cannot adequately express my enormous gratitude for the gift of friends and family who helped me through this difficult 2.5+ year journey. Their support gave me the gift of time to recharge my batteries, from a weekend away to just going for a 1 hour walk, while giving my mom a welcome change of routine—playing cards, watching movies, reading to her, etc.

My vision is that this website is a source of tools and resources that are quick to access. (Caregivers typically only have a few minutes in a day to investigate options to make their load lighter.) If you have a resource you would like to share, please email me at [email protected].

If you are a caregiver, acknowledge that you are an extraordinary person. And, as the FAA regulation states: It’s important to put your own oxygen mask on first, before assisting others. Please leverage your team!

— Stacey