Welcome to Marcia's CaringBridge site. We are thankful that you are here, and that you are interested in staying up to date on Marcia's journey. Marcia is a wonderful wife, a loving mother, a creative teacher and a brave adventurer. She has always loved going for walks, swimming, traveling, singing, trying new foods, and being outside. She has excelled in teaching, reading, learning more about history, dabbling in creative writing, and talking with ANYBODY. She has always had her extraordinary faith on display, sharing her love for Jesus, praying like a true warrior and generally helping anyone who needs it. She is currently a proud grandma to 8 grandchildren. Over the past several years God has been leading Marcia and her family down a path we would not have planned on taking. About 9 years ago we started noticing that Marcia was having trouble finding words. She saw a doctor but the initial MRI found nothing so they thought it was anxiety and put her on medication; however, the side effects from the medication were worse than the problem and did nothing to help it. Her doctor decided to take a 2nd MRI and we were told that Marcia had a volume loss on the frontal lobe of her brain. After a lot of specialists, further testing, and follow up appointments, we were given a diagnosis: Frontal Temporal Dementia, or specifically Primary Progressive Aphasia, which targets speech first. The doctors estimate that Marcia had already been declining for more than 2 years at the time of her diagnosis, but because she had a high level of communication skills, her mind just learned to compensate for the loss. Because of her PPA, Marcia has slowly progressed from an independent, confident, and creative woman to a much different version of herself. For the first few years, she was still able to write down her thoughts and say a few special phrases (I pray the Lord will bless you today), but now she is completely nonverbal. She had to quit her work as a teacher around the time of her diagnosis and she stopped driving shortly afterward. She struggles to focus on one activity, and social situations can be difficult for her. She is no longer able to take care of her own personal needs, and she requires a companion with her all of the time to help her to figure out what to do next and to keep her calm and safe (she is a runner & wears a tracker when she is away). We are now roughly 10 years in and, although this ugly disease shows no signs of letting up, Marcia still retains her sweet spirit, beautiful smile, and fervent love for Jesus. It's a joy when she lights up the room with a smile. She still loves to walk and listen to music. She seems excited when she gets to see her kids and grandchildren, and she sometimes can be coaxed to give hugs and affection (on her terms). Her husband, Al Tlougan, is the love of her life and has cared for her and fought for her through this journey with every fiber of his being. Thanks to Al's hard work and the contribution of time from family and her many friends, Marcia has been able to stay at home, in spite of her ever-growing need for more supervision and help. In Job chapter 2;10b Job says “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble”. Though like Job, we would not have chosen this path, it is the path God has placed us on and we are trusting Him for what lies ahead and seeking Him in it. We would appreciate your prayers, support, and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting and we pray the Lord will bless you today!
