by Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

Before I became a care manager, I was clueless about Alzheimer’s Disease.

I attributed the increasingly odd lapses in my mother’s behavior to her usual flighty charm.

I didn’t get it when Mom told me she was taking taxis to visit her sister downtown.  I thought, sure, it’s a good idea for someone her age to be using cabs instead of public transportation, especially in New York City where the weather is often extreme, either too hot or too cold.

But the truth was right in front of me and I just didn’t see it.  Mom was taking taxis to avoid getting lost, despite having made the same trip every week for 40 years.