Not really sure how to write about this... my mother Caroline passed away last Tuesday after an eighteen year struggle with Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's. She would have been 79 this month. It's been a very difficult time for the family, especially my father... they had celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in August. Despite her significant health challenges, he was there for her every step of the way.
When we talk about heroes, my Mom was the real deal. She was always there for her family, always, and never complained as these awful diseases progressed. When her starry-eyed son dreamed of writing for a living, she never batted an eye and backed me one hundred percent. She did the same for all her four sons. And she was a rock for my father. I can't remember them ever exchanging a single cross word, or "arguing" over anything more significant than where to have lunch. It was truly one of those fairy tale matches romances. And knowing my Mom, she would have been embarrassed to hear it described that way. Because being nice was just... her.
Some have asked how they might remember her. The Oregon Parkinson's Center at the link below was a great help to my parents over the years.
https://www.ohsu.edu/foundation/giving
/default.cfm?dcode=57&src=PKC_WEB
