Toward the end, I felt more love than ever.

In some very meaningful ways, I think Jeanne was more her self in the last 38 months with Alzheimer's than she was in the earlier stages of the disease. She was no longer belligerent and agitated. She became sweet again. More relaxed. More content. More at peace. That’s more like the Jeanne I knew daily before Alzheimer's. I was still able to connect with Jeanne in the final years. And she was still able to connect to me. In so many ways. Maybe not in all of the same ways we connected before the disease. But Alzheimer’s forced us to look for new connections. New ways to communicate. New ways to sustain our love. Yes, life presents some interesting challenges. And my attitude is, accept one's fate. And learn to cope. No matter what. Never give up. Toward the end, I felt more love than ever. --Jim Broede