John Chicoine remembers his wife’s smile, angelic voice, and positive attitude. When Paula was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s she called her daughter, Annie Welsh, and said, “It will be okay, I have your dad to take care of me.”
And take care of her he did. After 56 years of marriage, Paula’s death was the final toll of a brutal disease that turned John into an around-the-clock unpaid caregiver and outspoken advocate for a different future of Alzheimer’s.
As part of the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C. this week, John had an opportunity to tell South Dakota’s Members of Congress about his and Paula’s journey with Alzheimer’s.
While meeting with United States Senator Mike Rounds, who also recently lost his wife to cancer, John shared his experience as a caregiver and thanked him for reaching out with a personal letter following Paula’s death in October to express his sympathy and understanding of what it’s like to lose a spouse.
John has always believed in public policy as a way to help others. He previously served as president of the South Dakota Chiropractic Association and even ran for the South Dakota Legislature in 2012 while living in Parker before moving to Sioux Falls because of Paula’s health.
“One day as a kid I answered the phone at our house and it was Governor Bill Janklow calling for dad,” John’s daughter, Annie, said while recalling childhood memories during the father-daughter duo’s trip together to the capital. John grinned and shook his head, a hallmark of his typical humility, and said, “He always wanted to talk.”
This week was not John and Annie’s first trip to Capitol Hill together. John’s policy work prompted a family trip to D.C. when Annie was in 8th grade. A lot has changed in the halls of Congress in that time, including a more than seven-fold increase in Alzheimer’s research funding thanks to advocates like John urging lawmakers to make this disease a priority.
While the country feels more politically divided than ever before, Alzheimer’s remains an issue capable of bringing together a fractured nation. Each of the five priority bills John asked Congress to support are widely bipartisan and have broad support from across the country. That fact, alone, gives him hope.
John believes his story, passion, and commitment will be seen by Senator John Thune, Senator Mike Rounds, and Representative Dusty Johnson as they decide how best to support families like his impacted by Alzheimer’s and other dementia.
“We have to find not only treatment but a cure,” John said. “There are no survivors from Alzheimer’s.”
Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia.™ For more information, visit www.alz.org or call the 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900.