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On the floral sofa, Molly Lowe grapples for her thoughts. Her mind is scattered and hostile, prematurely deteriorating. The inability to articulate frustrates Lowe, and she begins to weep. Her hand grips a wrinkled tissue; she presses it to her face as she shakes her head.
“I know what I’m dealing with,” she manages to say. “It’s miserable. Miserable.”
Lowe, 54, of Amarillo, is one of more than 5 million people in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that damages and destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior.
No cure for the disease is known.
And yet, Lowe lives with resilience, doing what she can to inform others of the disease and raise support for ongoing research.
November marks the 30th anniversary of National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. Efforts nationwide are ongoing this month to spotlight the condition.
“Molly is such an inspiration for all of those going through the disease,” said Tracy Sommers, area director of the Amarillo chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“She told me when I first met her that she was not going to let this disease get her, and she wants her voice to be heard for all of those going through this now.”
Lowe, formerly a registered nurse, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease the day she turned 52 in January 2011.
When daily tasks involving numbers, writing and remembering medical terminology became an increasing struggle, Lowe sought medical attention from a specialist.
The diagnosis devastated Lowe and her family.
“I hung up the phone and cried for the years and memories I knew we would be robbed of,” said Lowe’s 27-year-old daughter, Megan Neal. “Mom was in the prime of her life. I immediately felt my world was crashing around me.”
Commonly thought to be an illness for the elderly, Alzheimer’s disease has been diagnosed in about 200,000 people in the U.S. younger than age 65, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Lowe, a single mother of three grown children, now lives with her 83-year-old mother and now primary caregiver, Peggy Blanton.
The disease has changed almost everything about daily life for Lowe.
“Alzheimer’s disease has no survivors,” Sommers said. “It slowly and painfully takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others and way of life.”
Lowe quit working immediately following the diagnosis.
“Being in a job where her actions affected the lives of others, she no longer felt capable of performing her tasks,” Neal explained. “It was too risky.”
As her health continued to worsen, familiar tasks like driving, managing finances and even using a cellphone became challenging. Eventually, Lowe became unable to communicate properly.
She was forced to withdraw herself from friends, church and other social arenas.
“Mom is very aware of what she is less and less capable of doing,” Neal said. “She gets incredibly frustrated when she sees her independence being taken from her.”
Lowe relies on family to care for her, a shift that has been difficult, Neal said.
“The tragedy of this disease is that you are forced to watch the person you love more than anything lose their ability to function and the memories they cherish and not being able to do one thing to stop it,” Neal said.
Of course, Lowe has good days: Days when she is peaceful and affectionate, laughing and joining in conversations about life’s simple joys, particularly grandchildren.
And hope remains.
Lowe and her family have become staunch champions of Alzheimer’s disease awareness and research. Because of her early diagnosis, Lowe has even had opportunities to tell her story at conventions and other events.
“It is more important than ever to become proactive in fighting this disease,” Neal said.
“Mom tries to speak to as many people as she can about her disease and challenge them to do something to help find a cure. She knows there is a lot left to live for.”
Finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is an ongoing effort, Sommers said, and progress is being made.
Various treatments help improve quality of life for Alzheimer’s disease patients, and many clinical trials are offered for individuals who have the disease, caregivers and volunteers.
Especially during National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, Sommers said she encourages people to become acquainted with the disease and support efforts to cure it.
For Lowe and others with Alzheimer’s disease, the possibility of a remedy provides comfort and encouragement.
“Mom is the most courageous woman I know because every day despite the struggles she faces she gets up and carries on,” Neal said. “She confronts this disease head-on, and for that she is my hero.”
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