����vlog

����vlog EIGHT NEWS AT SIX. AND ANKENY WOMAN IS USING HER EXPERIENCE AS A CAREGIVER TO HELP OTHERS. HER FIRST BOOK ABOUT NAVIGATING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE WAS JUST RELEASED. ����vlog ALYX SACKS SAT DOWN WITH HER TO TALK ABOUT WHY MEMORIES MATTER, THUMBING THROUGH THE PAGES OF HER FIRST NOVEL. IT STILL DOESN’T FEEL REAL. IT WAS REALLY SO IMPORTANT TO TELL MY MOM’S STORY. SHE DOESN’T HAVE HER VOICE ANYMORE. DON BRENNAMAN WERTZ WROTE ABOUT A TOPIC UP UNTIL SEVEN YEARS AGO. SHE DIDN’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT. BUT TO UNDERSTAND WHY, IT’S IMPORTANT TO START WITH THE PRELUDE. SHE’S ALWAYS A GREAT MOM. AMBITIOUS, STRONG. CARING. LOVING. BUT ALSO LIKE YOU, YOU MAY NOT WIN A FIGHT WITH HER. I MEAN, SHE LITERALLY FOUGHT IN COURT AND SHE’D GO TO DC AND FOUGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS. REMEMBERING WHO HER MOM USED TO BE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IN 2018, DON’S MOM, KATHY BRENNEMAN, WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. AT FIRST, KATHY WAS ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH HER LIFE AND ACTIVITIES LIKE CHOIR GROUP. THEN COVID HIT. COVID WAS TOUGH. SIMPLE TASKS BECAME NOT SO SIMPLE AS THE DISEASE ACCELERATED. KATHY STRUGGLED TO EAT AND USE THE BATHROOM. SHE’S VERY CHILDLIKE. SO ALZHEIMER’S GOES DEEPER THAN JUST MEMORY LOSS AND LOSING ITEMS. NOW DON TAKES TIME OFF WORK AND AWAY FROM HER FAMILY EVERY OTHER WEEK TO TRAVEL TO THE CHICAGO AREA TO HELP TAKE CARE OF HER MOM. AND THEN BEING IN MY CHILDHOOD HOME, BEING BACK IN MY BEDROOM AND CAREGIVING FOR MY MOM AND WATCHING THIS PROGRESS WAS SO EMOTIONAL. AND SHE IS FAR FROM ALONE. THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION SAYS 80,000 CAREGIVERS ARE PROVIDING 118,000,000 HOURS OF UNPAID CARE IN IOWA, A VALUE OF $2.7 BILLION, ADDING UP TO A PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL BURDEN. I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH THESE EMOTIONS. AND SO I WAS LOOKING UP ON ON AMAZON, TRYING TO FIND I JUST WANT A BOOK THAT THAT IS SAYING WHAT I’M FEELING. AND I COULDN’T FIND THAT. EXACTLY. AND THAT’S WHY SHE WROTE MEMORIES MATTER, A STORY FOR CAREGIVERS ABOUT LOVE, LOSS AND LEANING IN. ARE YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF? I AM, I AM PROUD OF MYSELF. AND I GOSH, I KNOW MY MOM WOULD BE TOO. THERE MAY BE A TOLL, BUT SPENDING TIME WITH HER MOM IN HER FINAL CHAPTER IS PRICELESS. LIFE SLOWS DOWN. WE GO TO THE ARBORETUM AND WE LITERALLY STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS. AND I WOULDN’T BE DOING THAT RIGHT NOW IF IT WEREN’T FOR ALZHEIMER’S. AND YOU CAN ORDER DON’S BOOK, MEMORIES MATTER NOW ON AMAZON, AND DON’S STORY WILL BE FEATURED DURING THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION’S PURPLE SOIREE. IT’S THEIR BIGGEST FUNDRAISING EVENT OF THE YEAR, AND TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE. I’LL BE EMCEEING AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE IN STUDIO ALYX SACKS. KC