Jane Bandler’s Husband

1. Jane Bandler’s Husband Written by Ambassador Don Bandler, 2011 Let me take a moment to tell you about myself, so you have an idea of what Alzheimer’s has taken from me. Then multiply my difficulties by the millions of people living with Alzheimer’s, and you will have an idea of itscosts to our society. I had a 27 year career in the Foreign Service. I served in Cameroon, West Africa, Paris, Bonn and as Ambassador to Cyprus. I was President Clinton’s Senior Director of European Affairs….Nonetheless, I was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 61 in 2008….I feel the disease slowly taking things from me. I do not want my children and grandchildren to know this disease. My mother-in-law had the same wish 14 years ago. It’s high time we find a cure.

2. Tonia Vojtkofsky’s Grandmother Written by Tonia Vojtkofsky My grandmother, now age 88, told me that I could do what ever I dreamed. Because of her, I am now a doctor specializing in Alzheimer’s disease and improving people’s lives every day.

3. Loretta Woodward Veney’s Mother About Doris Perritt Woodward My mom, Doris Perritt Woodward, is a very alert 85 year old whose only health affliction is Alzheimer’s. She walks briskly without even so much as a cane, however, her dementia becomes immediately obvious once she speaks because the first thing she usually proclaims loudly is, “I don’t know what I’m doing!” Her favorite passion, in addition to sewing and exercise, is reading. Her short-term memory is less than one minute long, so despite her abundance of books, the dementia causes her to read the same few books over and over, even after the book falls apart. Now in the eighth year of her diagnosis, Mom no longer remembers who I am, but our love remains strong. I’ve chronicled our journey with Alzheimer’s in my book entitled: “Being Mom’s Mom”.