Shout out

Anna2022

Every morning I come to the forum before my day starts. i read, learn and try to share when my experience might be helpful. If I have nothing to add, I still respond with the buttons below the posts (Insightful, Like, Care, etc). This morning as I read your posts I was filled with many emotions: Gratitude, empathy, sadness, anger, surprise, etc - the whole range of emotional responses!

So, thank you to EVERYONE who posts here, with questions and comments of your experiences. You have been a life-line to me and all who read this forum. I can't see you, I barely know the details of your lives, but I feel I know you in a particularly special way. Many, many thanks to you all.

Those who are in Stage 8 and continue to post are so very special too. To have reached that stage and to be still try to help those of us who are still trudging, is frankly amazing. I don't know if I will be able to do the same when my time comes to Stage 8.

And a special shout-out to all the doctors/nurses/medical professionals who post on this forum - the combination of lived experience and medical insight is so very precious. Your generosity is extraordinary. Many, many thanks to you all.

annie51

I love this post. I agree with all you’ve said. It has been a lifeline for me as well. I, too, admire those who continue to post in Stage 8. I hope that I will have the fortitude to follow their example when I reach that stage.

debriesea

Beautifully said! You covered it all! I’m so very thankful for this forum!!

jsps139_

Thank you for posting. We are so fortunate to have each other when it seems nobody else understands. I am so thankful everyday for everyone that shares their experiences (good or bad) and their knowledge, and wonderful advice. It makes my journey so much easier.

trottingalong

thank you for your post. Like you, this is where I go every morning and then throughout the day.

fmb

I wholeheartedly agree with everything @Anna2022 wrote. This forum literally saved my life a few months ago when I hit rock bottom and was considering ending it all. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

LJCHR

I agree - I go here every morning and several times each day. This is a lifeline for me. No one understands the sadness, trials, and complexities of this disease like everyone on this forum. I hate to think what caretaking would be without it. We gain wisdom by the experiences of each other. Thanks to everyone who posts here.

Pat6177

I agree as well. It has been so very helpful to read about what kinds of things happen for others before I experience them. Not that DH and I go through all of the various issues but to have read about so many of the things that have happened blunt the impact. The support and experiences here and the suggestions and explanations from the medical folks also are helping me to figure out what palliative care is and when to say no to diagnostic tests. I still struggle but without this forum, I know I would be feeling as if I wasn’t properly caring for my DH if I didn’t follow through with all the tests, etc that the drs recommend.

Elshack

I am in stage 8 and have been since Nov 24 2023. This place was my lifeline for the past few years and I just want to pay it forward with the lessons I have learned.

A. Marie

Thank you, Anna, for this post. I'm another one in Stage 8 (since 6/4/23), and I'll say again what I've said before: This forum was and still is more help to me than anything else has been. Special thanks to M1, Ed1937, Bill_2001 ("The Cavalry Is Not Coming" remains a classic), harshedbuzz, Crushed (from whom we haven't heard in a while), Joe C., and many others among the regulars. I feel I know you all, even though I don't know you IRL.

M1

It's completely mutual. I used to call Ed the mayor of the forum because he was so quick to welcome new posters (including me), i miss his input but hope his absence is a good thing, moving on. I too feel like you are all friends and fellow travelers on this road that none of us chose. It makes it more bearable. I am here multiple times a day because i have nowhere else to go, that's the honest truth. It restores my energy for the next hour, the next day, the next step.

l7pla1w2

"Me too" posts usually bother me, but, Anna, you so articulately said things that I had considered posting myself. And you did it much better than I would have!

GothicGremlin

I'm a recent addition to stage 8 (3/6/24), and I'm where @Elshack is - I still come here most days and post if I think I have something helpful to say.

When I first got here I knew zip about Alzheimer's, and I needed to pick up as much knowledge as I could asap - my sister's well-being depended on it. So I came here, and everyone was so welcoming and helpful. I've learned a lot in the last 5 1/2 years. I hope to give some of that back.

concerned_sister

Let me also express my thanks. I'm sibling to the PWD. My SIL is the hands on person. It seems DB hasn't made it to stage 5 yet. Reading the posts from caregivers makes me realize I'm lifting some of the burden, and she (SIL) knows he's safe when spending time with me. I don't think I'd recognize the value of what I do without your insights.