Local man starts the first Alabama Frontotemporal Degeneration Caregiver Support Group
Jerry Horn is a retired businessman who expected to spend his golden years traveling and enjoying his grandchildren. Instead, he has spent the last several years focused on caring for Debbie, his beloved wife of 44 years, proving his unfailing love while navigating life with her after a diagnosis of Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) combined with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) and Parkinsonism. The diagnosis alone is tough to say but that’s nothing compared to the difficulties of living with this form of dementia that is the most common type for people under the age of 60. There is no cure or effective treatment to slow the progression of damage in the frontal and temporal parts of the brain that can make everyday life increasingly challenging. As neurons die in these regions, the lobes atrophy, wreaking havoc in thinking, communicating, walking, and may cause strange behaviors and poor judgment. The demanding task of providing care 24/7 hasn’t stopped Jerry from trying to help others as well.
Jerry will finally be able to share with others who can understand his need to connect, receive and give support, and learn from each other’s experience. Jerry says, “I see this as a major victory, and I hope that it is only the beginning of an entirely new focus on the FTD side of the dementia spectrum.”
Jerry is a living example of this quote from Anne Frank – “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
For this and other dementia support groups, see caregivers unite.org blog or the website calendar.
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