Petersen now believes he saw some signs that Jan may have been succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease while in her 40s “In retrospect, when dealing with a person in his or her 40s and 50s,  people don’t jump to the idea that the person might have Alzheimer’s,” Petersen said. “When dealing with somebody who is 90, you might say, ‘Well, he’s showing some times. Hmmm, we might need to investigate this.’ But someone in her 50s? People tell me that even doctors dealing with this disease are really hesitant to make that jump from realizing that the person is repeating himself and having short-term memory loss to a sign that this is something truly serious. If I did one thing really well, it was to deny what was happening. I didn’t want to see anything wrong with Jan.”

                In the book, Petersen goes into detail describing the challenges he faced in caregiving while having a full-time job that required extensive travel. He recounts the toll that Jan’s condition took on him emotionally and physically. He also talks about the live-in caregiver he had to hire, as well as the support network he formed online. And he describes s the steps that he’s taken to create a new life after having to place Jan in an assisted living facility. I’ll cover some of these topics in future shareposts.

                “Jan’s Story” is a great book to help people to understand the challenges that caregivers face in dealing with Alzheimer’s. Petersen, who is donating 10 percent of the book royalties to the Alzheimer’s disease, hopes the book offers a lesson for people who are caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer’s: “Reach out and find friends who have gone through this before. You can’t do this alone.”