How are you?

Lgb35

hi everyone! As part of the early onset group we encounter things like work, kids, etc that retirees may not have to deal with. I wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing and what are your challenges?

We can get through this together❤️

Mollykazoo

hello!
thank you for creating this group…

I am 53 and my husband was diagnosed with AD last November at age 55 (he’s 56 now).

We have three kids (11,18, and 21).
And, naturally, we also have aging parents…holy moly!!

My husband stopped working about 3 weeks ago and I’m currently coming to terms with the fact that, during this summer break between school years, I can’t really leave him home alone with the 11 year old because he’s barely checking in with her, not able to keep track of time to offer her meals, and not driving anymore.
It’s a lot. I’m trying, each day, to tune in to my feelings, feel all the sadness and the little moments of gratitude that sneak in (there’s so much more frequent than I ever would’ve expected). I’m sending understanding to all others who are in a similar boat.

Molly

Lgb35

have you all applied for SSDI yet? I think my DH is on the verge to stop working as well. I am shopping for an attorney to help with the process as we do not have any sick leave or disability plan through his employer. How much have you shared with the kids? How are they handling this diagnosis? Our kids are grown but I don’t think they have a real grasp of what is happening. We have a 7 year old grandson who lives with us. He hasn’t picked up on anything yet so we haven’t talked to him about it.

schmixter

New to this group, thank you for starting this thread.

My DH (58 yrs) was diagnosed Dec 23 and just stopped working at the beginning of July. The decision was quick and I stressed out A LOT as the date approached, but he is settling into this "retirement" thing rather smoothly. Not entirely smoothly, but better than I had worried about. My major concerns are to get him off the couch and to stop watching "reels" all the time. It's like I have a 5th child going through their teens! I run my own business and work from home. Since his diagnosis was over a year ago, I was able to plan ahead regarding his company benefits and more. Oh, but it still so stressful!!

Lgb35

my DH turned 61 last week. I am 54 and work at home too. He has not stopped working yet but we did talk with our primary doctor and we both feel he would be approved for SSDI right now. He does not have any benefits from work so I have been squirreling money into another account to prepare. We both have 401k’s we could fall back on if necessary. We have a 7 year old grandson that lives with us and the constant questions between him and DH get to me😬