Linda Shippey

May 2001, my husband Dennis L Shippey was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's at the age of 56. For the next ten years, our personal journey was an invaluable series of learning experiences.  "How do you deal with the disease and provide quality life for your loved one for the maximum amount of time?" What I learned during that period is invaluable and must be shared so others do not have to meet the same frustrations and near death experiences along the way. I am not a prolific writer but I have passion for what faces thousands of couples/families who have yet to walk this path.

My name is Linda Moorman Shippey, I am a retired assistant principal and lifelong educator.  I hold a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with math specialization and a Masters Degree in Education with two certifications:  Supervision and Mid-management.  I have dedicated my life to educating the young and old both in public education, private school and community college. August 31, 2011, I became a widow after 40+ years.  My husband Dennis survived 10 years with a diagnosis of Early Onset Alzheimer’s.  What I want to share with readers is the many issues, concerns, heartbreaks, family/friend dynamics, community implications, joys and spiritual renewal that came with the Alzheimer’s journey. 

There is a story to tell ... but more importantly information to share.  And through it all there has to be a message of hope when individuals are facing this unbearable diagnosis during the height of careers and with a future that has been or soon will be diminished by the word “Alzheimer’s”.  For the past year, I have struggled with grief, acceptance and a desire to move on to create a new life as a single woman.  I can honestly say that I have experienced every imaginable emotion that accompanies loss but through it all – I maintain my conversations with God.  Some are not so pretty but I stay in constant conversation as I struggle to make sense of what happened and where do I go from here.

I have used therapeutic writing as one way to express my feelings during the grief process.  Those writings have taken on the form of chapters for a book.  I am a bit stifled by that process at this time and hope that this blog will help me move from that structure to a more freelance writing of topics.