BARBARA-LEE: EVERY 65 SECONDS, SOMEONE IN THE U.S. DEVELOPS
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. CARLO: THE SIXTH LEADING CAUSE
OF DEATH NATIONWIDE AND THE
THIRD IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
6 MILLION AMERICANS LIVE WITH
ALZHEIMER'S AND THAT NUMBER IS
EXPECTED TO DOUBLE IN THE NEXT
30 YEARS, SO HOW DO WE GET
READY?
READY?
READY? BARBARA-LEE: IN MANY CASES,
FAMILY MEMBERS ARE CAREGIVERS,
AND IN THIS CASE OUR OWN
MARCELLA LEE.
MARCELLA LEE. SHE JOINS US WITH HER VERY
PERSONAL STORY IN HOPES OF
INSPIRING AND HELPING OTHERS.
MARCELLA: THIS IS BY FAR THE
MOST DIFFICULT STORY I'VE EVER
SHARED AS A JOURNALIST, BUT ALSO
THE MOST HEALING AND CATHARTIC.
I SHOWED MY MOM THE STORY
EARLIER TODAY, AND SHE GAVE ME
HER BLESSING, SAYING THAT IF IT
CAN HELP JUST ONE PERSON TO BE
LESS AFRAID AND FEEL LESS ALONE,
IT IS WORTH IT.
MARCELLA: LOOK HOW PRETTY YOU
ARE.
ARE.
ARE. >>
ARE. >> OH, MY GOSH, YOU SAVE ALL
THESE PICTURES?
THESE PICTURES? MARCELLA: WHEN I TALKED TO MY
MOM LUCY ABOUT THE GOOD OLD
DAYS.
DAYS.
DAYS. >>
DAYS. >> MY MOM AND DAD.
THEY LOVE THEM, -- THEY LOVE ME,
I LOVE THEM.
MARCELLA: HER MEMORIES ARE SO
CLEAR.
CLEAR.
CLEAR. BUT A LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR
AGO, WE REALIZED SHE WAS HAVING
TROUBLE REMEMBERING THINGS SHE
DID ONLY FIVE MINUTES AGO, AND
WAS FORGETTING THINGS THAT SHE
USED TO KNOW.
>> OH.
>> OH.
>> OH. IT
>> OH. IT ALMOST CAME BACK.
MARCELLA: LIKE THE NAME OF OUR
DOG, DENALI.
DOG, DENALI. >> RIGHT NOW, I HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT HER NAME IS.
IT IS TERRIBLE.
MARCELLA: THAT'S OK.
MY FAMILY IS THANKFUL THAT SHE
HASN'T FORGOTTEN ANY OF OUR
NAMES.
NAMES.
NAMES. >>
NAMES. >> I AM SO HAPPY.
MARCELLA: SHE LIVED WITH US
SINCE MY DAD DIED FIVE YEARS
AGO, AND WE ENJOY HER HAPPY
SPIRIT.
SPIRIT.
SPIRIT. >> I AM YOUR SISTER.
>> YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER.
MARCELLA: BUT WHEN HER MOMENTS
OF FORGETFULNESS AND CONFUSION
BECAME ALMOST DEBILITATING, I
STARTED TO DOCUMENT IT ON VIDEO
FOR HER DOCTOR.
>> I'M JUST SO CONFUSED.
MARCELLA: IT IS HARD TO SEE HER
AGING.
AGING.
AGING. IT
AGING. IT IS HARD TO SEE HER MEMORY
SLIPPING AWAY.
SLIPPING AWAY. AND WHEN SHE GETS INTO THOSE
PERIODS OF DEEP CONFUSION, I
FEEL SO HEAVY HEARTED FOR HER.
SEVEN MONTHS AGO, I TOOK HER TO
SEE A NEUROLOGIST, WHO CONFIRMED
WHAT I SUSPECTED, ALZHEIMER'S
DISEASE.
DISEASE.
DISEASE. >> AFTER THE DIAGNOSIS, THERE IS
FEAR, DENIAL, QUESTIONS.
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE
MOM THAT I KNOW AND LOVE?
MARCELLA: WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS
JOURNEY ALONE SINCE THE
DIAGNOSIS IN APRIL.
>> WHEN YOU TOLD ME I HAD
ALZHEIMER'S, I SAID, OH MY GOSH.
BUT IT IS OK.
MARCELLA: MY MOM SEEMS TO HAVE
ACCEPTED IT.
ACCEPTED IT. >> SOMETIMES, I FEEL BAD,
BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING I CANNOT
CONTROL, AND IT WILL INFLUENCE
OTHER PEOPLE, THEY WILL FEEL
SORRY FOR ME.
WOW, THAT'S SO NICE.
MARCELLA: I FINALLY REACHED OUT
TO ALZHEIMER'S SAN DIEGO JUST
LAST WEEK FOR SUPPORT.
>> I COULD TELL WHEN WE WALKED
UP, SHE WAS A LITTLE
APPREHENSIVE.
APPREHENSIVE. >> HELLO.
>> HELLO.
>> HELLO. MARCELLA: AND THEN I SAW HER
FACE LIGHT UP.
>> THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO,
YOU CAN ENJOY EVERY DAY WITH THE
DIAGNOSIS.
DIAGNOSIS. MARCELLA: THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
OF ALZHEIMER'S SAN DIEGO SAYS
ACTIVITY AND STIMULATION --
>> EXERCISE, WE NEED THAT.
MARCELLA: ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE
MIND AND BODY.
THE NONPROFIT OFFERS AN
ABUNDANCE OF RESOURCES AND
SUPPORT LIKE THIS MUSIC THERAPY
CLASS.
CLASS.
CLASS. AND EVEN RESPITE CARE, ALL AT NO
COST FOR THOSE LIVING WITH
DEMENTIA AND CAREGIVERS.
>> 100% FREE.
WE ARE DONATED -- FUNDED BY
DONATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY TO
SERVE PEOPLE IN SAN DIEGO.
MARCELLA: MORE THAN 84,000
PEOPLE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY LIVE
WITH DEMENTIA, THE UMBRELLA TERM
FOR DECLINE IN MEMORY AND
COGNITIVE THINKING, AND
THOUSANDS OF UNPAID CAREGIVERS
LIKE ME AND MANY OF YOU.
THE SUPPORT IS COMFORTING.
YOU KNOW YOU WANT ALONE.
>> THAT'S ONE THING WE HEAR FROM
PEOPLE, THAT THEY WISH THEY
REACHED OUT SOONER.
BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING THIS ALL
ALONE, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
MARCELLA: FOR THOSE OF US IN THE
BEGINNING STAGES,, SHE HAS THESE
WORDS OF WISDOM.
>> WHEN THEY GET MORE CONFUSED
OR FRUSTRATED, THE BEST THING IS
NOT TO TRY TO CORRECT HER.
SHE CANNOT REMEMBER THE
CORRECTION, SO IT WILL ONLY BE
MORE FRUSTRATING.
MORE FRUSTRATING. MARCELLA: AND SHE REMINDS ALL OF
US ON THIS PATH TO TRULY LIVE IN
THE MOMENT.
THE MOMENT. ♪
♪
♪ MARCELLA: I GOT REALLY
EMOTIONAL, BECAUSE I REMEMBERED
MY MOM WALKING AROUND THE HOUSE,
SINGING THAT SONG, AND IT
BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES.
AND THE MEANINGS OF THE WORDS,
YOU KNOW?
YOU KNOW?
YOU KNOW? THE JOURNEY WE ARE ON, WE DON'T
KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING TO END,
AND THE SONG SEEMS SO FITTING,
"WHAT WILL BE WILL BE."
I KNOW WE CAN DO IT TOGETHER.
♪
♪
♪ ♪
♪
♪ [APPLAUSE]
[APPLAUSE] MARCELLA: THE FUTURE IS NOT OURS
TO SEE, BUT WE CAN GET THROUGH
IT TOGETHER.
IT TOGETHER. THAT'S WHY I STARTED A FACEBOOK
GROUP CALLED LIVING WITH
ALZHEIMER'S.
ALZHEIMER'S. JOINED ME ON THE JOURNEY TO
SHARE THOUGHTS WITH ADVICE, IN A
SMALLER SETTING.
SMALLER SETTING. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO
ALREADY REACHED OUT WITH KIND
WORKS -- WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT.
TO JOIN, CLICK ON THE HOT
BUTTON.
BUTTON.
BUTTON. KARLENE, -- CARLO, I WANT TO
THANK YOU, I KNOW THAT YOUR
FATHER DIED OF ALZHEIMER'S KIND
YOU CONNECTED ME WITH THE
COMMUNITY.
COMMUNITY. CARLO: YOU GUYS ARE INCREDIBLY
BRAVE.
BRAVE.
BRAVE. BARBARA-LEE: I KNOW WHEN SHE WAS
LOOKING AT THE VIDEO EARLIER,
SHE SMILED AND SAID, IF I CAN
JUST HAVE ONE PERSON.
MARCELLA: RIGHT.
MARCELLA: RIGHT. IN THE MORNINGS, SHE IS GOOD.
IT IS AFTER THE SUN SETS, AND
THAT IS COMMON, WHEN SHE GETS
CONFUSED AND TIRED.
BUT IN THE MORNING, SHE IS
ALERT.
ALERT.
ALERT. SHE DID THE INTERVIEW, WATCHED
THE STORY.
THE STORY. I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT
SHE WATCH THE VIDEOS, BECAUSE
THOSE ARE PRIVATE MOMENTS AND
SHE WANTED TO SHARE.
CARLO: IF ANY ONE HAS A LOVED
ONE WHO HAS IT, FOR SUSPECTS
THEY DO, TAKE ACTION, AS I DID.
[LAUGHTER]
[LAUGHTER] MARCELLA: YOU WERE BOTHERING ME
FOR MONTHS.
FOR MONTHS. NOT BOTHERING ME, BUT NUDGING
ME.
ME.
ME. CARLO: ONCE YOU GET BACK,
EVERYONE SAYS THEY WISHES THEY
DID IT SOONER.
MARCELLA: AND HE RESPITE CARE,
WHERE THEY COME SO YOU CAN GO
OUT AND LIVE A LITTLE.
BARBARA-LEE: EVERYONE CAN GET A