By Jeanne Narum, JD, CPA
Remember when your children’s activities were the highlight of your day and you adjusted your work day to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
This was my life until 3yrs ago when my career as an attorney for BCBS came to a halt as my co-workers recognized I wasn’t performing to my full potential. We thought if I took a little time off and regrouped, I would
return in short order, not so.
With my husband Chris’ support, we visited counselors, various Doctors, and eventually Sanford Neurology where they suspected I may have Primary Progressive Aphasia. I had been mixing up words for several months and was struggling with short term memory. I have always been a list maker so as long as I kept a list I could manage our busy lives.
After several months of Dr. appointments, I had the joy of going through cognitive testing. I think I would have
rather sat for both the ND & MN CPA & BAR exams again. How could it be Alzheimer’s when there is no known family history and I’m 50 yrs young with our son in his senior H.S. year, our daughter is at U. Mary, and I’m in the peak of my career? It has not been easy accepting this diagnosis and letting go of all of the things I worked so hard for.
When we heard of Memory Café, we were skeptical of what we would learn. If it wasn’t for having pizza and
snacks at the Young Onset group I don’t know if I could have convinced my husband to go. We have attended
most of the Young Onset meetings where they share ideas and learn from organizations and services that are
available to support us through this journey.
I also look forward to exercising and doing projects with my new Monday morning friends at the Gathering. This is a great way to start the week as Coach Jake motivates us to keep moving. The staff and volunteers treat everyone with dignity and respect and will go out of their way to help us find solutions to life’s new challenges.
I have found enjoyment from volunteering at church, food bank, and Hope Blooms with my new friend Sue at Home Instead. We have walked all of the parks and trails in the FM area, ventured through Buffalo State Park, and found the trolls in the Detroit Lakes area. My husband and I enjoy having family and friends visit us at Cotton Lake in the summers. We also enjoyed touring Alaska and a cruise along the Inner Passage, visiting friends in Mexico, and recently we explored Switzerland and Austria.