The book "On Pluto", www.amazon.com/Pluto-Inside... written by a former investigative reporter who has early-onset #Alzheimers, describes what it's like. He says it's exhausting trying to hold it all together, and sometimes it's like he's "On Pluto", where communication is far away and difficult.

Chapter 15 is now up. This post is about Peggy trying to hold it all together, and not always succeeding, hence "I'm trying." She'd often say "sometimes I can't do anything." fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-15-i... #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

Chapter 14 is now up. These two posts are about cutting off access to my sister's credit cards & canceling unused checks. It was sad, but she wasn't safe to have those in her possession any longer fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-14-w... fiveandahalfyears.net/removing-acc... #Alzheimers #dementia #ftd

Looks like I'm going to be taking up a new hobby 🙂 Sorry if you've all posted this, but for some reason I can't see my feed right now .... My first task - Identify the pretty blue bird in the photo www.nbcnews.com/health/healt... #Alzheimers #dementia

This seems like a good thing. Like the guy in the article, I also do many, many sit-ups (and other gym activities). It all helps. www.npr.org/2026/02/18/n... #Alzheimers #dementia

Another risk factor for #Alzheimers - air pollution. abcnews.com/US/air-pollu...

Chapter 13 of the blog is now up. This post details lockdown projects, the first time Peggy fell, and our RV trip (trying to control our environment) to go visit her during the soft lockdown. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-13-c... #Alzheimers #FTD #dementia

Chapter 12 of the blog is now up. This post details how we first dealt with the Covid lockdowns with Peggy in assisted living, and the workarounds we had to create. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-12-l... #alzheimers #dementia #ftd

I ended up placing my sister in memory care because I knew that I couldn't give her all of the social interactions and care that she would need. It was a tough decision, but for the two of us, the right decision. www.npr.org/2026/02/17/n... #alzheimers #dementia

Chapter 11 is now up. This post covers why it's usually a bad idea to bring a person with dementia back home. It's very likely to cause a meltdown over -- something. Could be anything. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-11-c... #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

This was always a fear for me as well - that my sister would forget me. In my case, she never did, thankfully. What I'd say to you is create all the good memories that you can with your now. You'll thank yourself later. It's what I did. I wish you the best. #Alzheimers #dementia

The devastating effect of federal funding cuts on Alzheimer’s research #alzheimers #alzheimersawareness #alzheimersdisease open.substack.com/pub/sredfern...

Chapter 10 is now up. Christmas 2019 - the last big Christmas we had that Peggy could really enjoy and participate in. I'm glad we made the effort to make it special. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-10-a... #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

Others have posted this, and I am too. Besides, it's good news for me (I hope), since I drink a fair amount of tea. www.theguardian.com/science/2026... #dementia #Alzheimers #FTD

Caffeine in coffee and tea shown to reduce #dementia risk. Read on… #coffee #tea #science #health #healthcare

@collinsportgirl.bsky.social Dark Shadows was (and is!) a favorite of mine. I was one of those little kids who would run home from school in order to catch it.

This article certainly resonated with me. We used to read to Peggy when she was in the later stages. In fact, her friend used to read to her about Dark Shadows, her favorite TV show when we were kids. www.theguardian.com/society/2026... #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

Chapter 9 is now up. This post is about our trip with Peggy to Italy and Sicily. We had some challenges, but it made Peggy very happy. A new Deep Dive is also up - how to travel with someone with dementia. I hope it's helpful. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-9-ab... #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

@dpcrotty.bsky.social Thanks, Dan!

Chapter 8 is now up. It details Peggy's assisted living settling in period. My first real "fiblet", and the beginning preparations for Peggy's bucket list trip to Italy/Sicily. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-8-li... #Alzheimers #FTD #dementia

I'll add that at a certain point my sister didn't know she had #Alzheimers . She just forgot she had it. #anosognosia

Emma Heming Willis' experiences with her husband's #FTD mirror what I experienced with my sister who had #FTD In the beginning you have no idea why your loved one is acting this way. Then comes the diagnosis and it all becomes clear. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv... #dementia #anosognosia

Chapter 7 of my blog is now up. This chapter details my sister's move into assisted living and how we navigated that. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-7-th... #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

Chapter 6 of my blog is now up. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-6-ho... This post is about getting home health aides and problems that can occur at home. #Alzheimers #dementia #FTD

By week six I learned that writing is therapy in itself sometimes! #alzheimers #alzheimersdisease #alzheimersawareness open.substack.com/pub/sredfern...

Scientists Found an Early Signal of Dementia Hidden in Terry Pratchett's Novels : ScienceAlert #mentalhealth #dementia #alzheimers www.sciencealert.com/scientists-f...

Chapter 5 is now up. This post is about food preparation, diet, and some of the troubles that come up. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-5-fo... I hope it's helpful. #dementia #Alzheimers #FTD

Chapter 4 of my blog about my sister's dementia journey is now up. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-4-ma... This chapter covers the early days while we were looking for assisted living facilities. #dementia #Alzheimers #FTD

Chapter Three is now up! fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-3-ge... #dementia #Alzheimers #FTD

Chapter two of my blog about my sister's dementia journey has now been posted. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-2-th... At this point we were all still figuring things out. #Alzheimers #FTD #dementia

Alzheimer’s disease develops slowly and discovering you have it is gradual too. #alzheimers #alzheimersdisease #alzheimersawareness open.substack.com/pub/sredfern...

Here's the first chapter of the blog about my sister's journey with Alzheimer's and FTD - chapters all run one to two pages, so not too long. fiveandahalfyears.net/chapter-1-th... #Alzheimers #FTD #dementia

I'm finally ready to launch my blog - fiveandahalfyears.net This blog chronicles my five and a half years of care giving for my younger sister who lived with early-onset Alzheimer's and FTD. I'm hoping it will be useful for people who are in a similar situation as we were. #Alzheimers #dementia

Okay! This is my first post. It might take me a little bit of time to get the hang of things here.