My mother and aunt both had Alzheimer's. It is the cruelest disease a person and their families have to endure. I watched my mother's mind slowly disintegrate, with my aunt being her caregiver until it became too difficult for her.

Mom died in a nursing home on Christmas Day 1989. Since then, Christmas stopped being my happy childhood holiday. The hardest part was that she was diagnosed when my daughter, Audrey, was only 9 months old. They never had a chance to get to know each other. It is very sad when a child grows up without a grandmother.

A few years later, my aunt was diagnosed with the same terrible disease. I was reliving the nightmare. The people I loved the most didn't remember who I was. My aunt died two years ago. Now every time I forget something, I worry that I am next. I constantly live in fear.