“‘You know my wife?’  
‘Yes, very well and I think she’ll love it.’
‘Let’s find Annie and Emily, I need a coffee.’
He was in and out of my world in a matter of minutes…”

For someone without any experience with dementia, these four short sentences provide a startling glimpse into the world that more and more Canadians are experiencing. This insight comes from a story Louise Milligan tells of a heartbreaking moment with her husband while on a New York vacation with their two daughters. Moments earlier, Gord had reached out to her, and as if she was a stranger, asked her opinion on a gift … for his wife.

Please watch this short and impactful presentation written and voiced by Louise Milligan.

Our 2016 Walk For Alzheimer’s Honouree Family, the McDonald-Milligan family have experienced the emotional rollercoaster of Alzheimer’s disease. A professor of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, Gord McDonald was diagnosed at age 64; his daughters Annie and Emily were 9 and 14 at the time. From the first diagnosis, Louise searched out community resources to help care for her husband and family. Throughout the disease progression, she has armed herself (and her daughters) with the knowledge, tools and support they need for the situation. And through it all Louise has become a dementia advocate while continuing to be a caring wife and a loving mother.