The sun was shining warmly in the vehicle and it was actually casting a slight glow across my mother's face when she broke the silence with two small words: "I'm scared." Staring straight ahead, keeping my eyes on the road so she wouldn't see the tears forming in the corners of my eyes, I swallowed the two large lumps that had formed in my throat and responded: "Mama, you don't have to be scared, I'll take care of you, I always have and I always will - to infinity squared." Then with a spin of humor to lighten the moment I said, besides you're the lucky one, I'm actually jealous. Just imagine waking up each day as a brand new day with no worries, no fears, no regrets, with everything taken care of and people just waiting on you hand and foot. A whole day to do whatever you want or be whoever you want. If that was only the truth, but the reality of the pending diagnosis was but the mere introduction to the next five years of heart ripping, tear staining moments each bringing me closer and more protective of my mother than I could have ever imagined. Alzheimer's is a disease without mercy and to survive it will change you forever. While you have very little control of the events occurring and changing before your eyes, you do have the power to decide how you will react and the perception you will view these events through and thereby, by some small divine mercy of God, you can survive, grow, and even become a better person all thanks to a devastating disease.
