JOHN NEFF

Welcome to John Neff’s CaringBridge website!  This tool helps family and friends get updates  in one place about his health.  I  appreciate your support  and words of encouragement.  Below the story of John’s dementia /Alzheimer’s journey (so far).  Thank you for visiting.    Valerie 

STAGE 1  (No Impairment, ALZ undetectable) 
In 2002, business climate/conditions were changing and John had the opportunity to retire from his 40-year career in the parimutuel wagering industry.  At 59 years of age, vibrant and an avid golfer, he had always dreamed of of retiring to Hot Springs, AR where he had  worked and played in this vacation mecca . A beautiful small town community, we jumped at the opportunity to move.   We had the perfect retirement setup/solution   I would continue my work/profession in the software industry and he would be “Mr Mom”.  He loved taking care of me.  He made new friends, golfed to his hearts content, while always on duty to make lunch/dinner and perform housekeeping duties as his part of the “deal”.  We were having fun and a new life order.  Until 2014....

STAGE 2 (Very Mild Cognitive Decline)
Looking back, early 2014, symptoms began, albeit minimal, unremarkable.  Small events; misplacing car keys, tools, household items, forgetting to turn off stove burners. John a non-stop-talker, outgoing, never met a stranger - was now talking less. His hour long daily conversation with his sister was much shorter those days (some days none).  Was this part of normal aging?  Perhaps..... It so happened two family weddings exposed to family members, something was off and he seemed to be “different”.  Lack of attention in conversations, signaled to me that perhaps his poor hearing was to blame.   He always balked at getting hearing aids, but was now agreeing to be tested, as he agreed there was “some” problem. With Hearing Aids in place, we both believed some of the earlier oddities were behind us.  But not so.... 



STAGE 3 - Story Coming Soon