Alzheimer's, Reality and Hope

 

 June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness month. I'm recognizing this month in memory of two people I've lost. Not both of them to the Alzheimer's.

We lost my dad in 2015. Yes, to Alzheimer's. We lost Rena just a few months ago. Not to the disease. Both, to me, personify the struggles on both sides of the Alzheimer's fence. Both had to navigate daily life with the condition, even though both did not have it.

I write to process. And then to vent. It's a coping mechanism for me, a catharsis of sorts. In cases like this, not so much to get over it, but to take the first step, actively acknowledging the reality of it. Although we lost dad in December of 2015, it took me 4 months to be able to write about it, to make it real through words of my own. It was a raw, emotional piece, not about the disease itself, but the aftermath, facing the reality.

I call that first piece Daddy's Girl, and I hope you'll click over and read it. A piece of my heart sits on that page. 

We lost Rena this past March. And yet again, it took months to write about it. Just a month ago, I wrote Rena: Mourning to Missing. The reason Rena is part of this post is because she saw this disease from the other side. She was a caregiver. Not only a caregiver, but a fierce, tireless, vocal advocate for Alzheimer's awareness, for caregiver support, and an endless source of information. Her site, The Diary of An Alzheimer's Caregiver remains available, and if you're looking for facts, and hope, Rena left that behind as a gift to us all. 

In fact, it was at Rena's urging that I finally, in 2020, wrote a broader piece about the disease called Alzheimer's, the Battle and the War. For that piece, as I always do, I created a graphic. To my surprise, this graphic has been re-pinned on Pinterest more times than I ever could imagine. Making me both happy that people are interested, and sad, knowing how many people are affected.

I want to end on an up-note, with a few sweet thoughts. Reality intertwined with hope.

Strawberry Brownie Cupcakes

 

First, I wrote in my piece about the individual battles of the Alzheimer's war, that I had hope that I lived to see the day that the disease is eradicated. That hasn't yet happened, but there has been progress. Scientists now made some progress in identifying a cause of the disease, and there is an approved drug that could slow its progression. And with progress, there is hope.

And second, I want to leave you with Rena's words, those she lived by every day as she dealt with Alzheimer's in one way or another:

"Appreciate the good, laugh with the crazy, and deal with the rest."

Strawberry Brownie Cupcakes       

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box (18.3 oz) fudge brownie mix

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup oil

3 eggs

1 box (15.25 oz) strawberry cake mix

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs

1/4 cup strawberry jam

OPT: powdered sugar, chocolate frosting, strawberry frosting and/or fresh strawberries for garnish 

Directions:

*Grease 18 cupcake wells. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*In a bowl, whisk together the brownie mix, water, 2/3 cup of oil, and three eggs. Set aside about 1/3 cup of the mix and divide the rest fairly evenly into the 18 greased wells. It doesn't have to be exact.

*Beat the strawberry cake mix, milk, remaining 1/2 cup of oil, remaining 3 eggs, and strawberry jam for 2 minutes. Fill the wells the rest of the way with the cake batter. Drizzle the reserved brownie batter over the top.

*Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until the centers spring back to the touch. Allow to sit in the cupcake pans for 5 minutes before running a knife around the edges and removing. Cool completely.

*OPT: once completely cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with chocolate or strawberry frosting and/or top with strawberries.