What Happened Next...

After the first indications of AD in Jack, as described

HERE,

things progressed very slowly for a long time.

 

 

Jay worked with Jack every day.

I had immediately called and asked him if he had 

noticed his dad being forgetful.

He said, "Oh, yes!"

 

 

I stopped by to talk to Susan on July 10, 2000.

She had not suspected.

 

 

Jay told Terri.  Susan told Rob.

That is the extent of those who knew.

Five people.  And that's the way we kept it.

 

 

But...

As usual, this "Cruisin' Mimi" had plans in the works.

Three days after talking to Susan, Jack and I 

took off on a cruise as scheduled to the Baltic.

It was July 13, 2000, my birthday. 

The trip began with a couple of days in London.

This was the scariest part, because we

had had a guide on our one previous visit.

This time I had planned for us to be on our own.

Additionally, we stayed at a hotel by the airport!

Why?  I have no idea.

Here we are riding the Gatwick Express!

We are the only two in this car!

(I set the camera to do an automatic shot.)

 

We are riding in at night to have fish and chips!

If you think this is nutty, just wait!

It gets worse.

 

Jack loved watches.  He had quite a collection.

I decided we needed to "tube it" to Greenwich,

where the mean time is set.

(This was after having to take the Gatwick Express 

in to London!)

It was a looonnng way.

We had to change trains--I don't remember

how many times--too many!--but we made it!

 

 

Here is Jack standing with one foot in the eastern

and one foot in the western hemisphere.

 

 

The line is the prime meridian, where 0 degrees

longitude is set.

 

 

Oh, dear.  I just remembered.  

We went to the Tower of London, too.

I think I dragged him to Greenwich after the Tower!

(After the train!)

 

 

Then...time to relax and let someone else

do the navigating!

I was relieved, and I'm sure Jack probably was!

 

 

Here we are on board the Splendour of the Seas.

 

 

I have always loved this picture.

 

 

And this is one of my favorites of all time,

taken by a passing stranger.

 

Here we are in front of The Admiralty in

St. Petersburg, Russia.

 

and in The Hermitage

(We were looking for Picassos!)

Want to see the best part of the trip?

 

 

Our welcome home!!! 

Several of you indicated that you were interested

in the way the disease progressed.

I will be pleased to share some more installments

 in the next few weeks.

 

 

If you are expecting, however, that our cruising 

came to an end,

let it be known that we took 14 (yes, fourteen)

more after the diagnosis!

 

 

"An Alzheimer's diagnosis is not the time to

grieve and miss out on the remaining years of life."

 

from Chicken Soup for the Soul

Living with Alzheimer's & Other Dementias

(This book was a gift to me from my cousin,

Sarah Lynn Festger.)