A six-foot tall, healthy and trim man with a mustache stands erect at the foot of my husband Chris’ casket. He watches me and brings me water despite the “no beverages in the visitation room” policy of the funeral home. Suggesting I sit down when he sees my legs buckle, and telling a friend to take me downstairs where there is food when the color drains from my face.
This type of caregiving comes naturally to my Uncle Jim, his entire life having been spent as a fireman. He is also an avid photographer – many of his work related pictures highlighted in the book he co-authored, Beertown Blazes: A Century of Milwaukee Firefighting.
Jim, father of five girls is an active, talented man before being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He dies after his ten-year battle with this progressive disease at the age of sixty-seven.
Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis,
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