When a Mind Begins to Disappear: A Young Family's Journey to the...(ey've given up a lot. On Friday Jim ...),Health

On Friday, Jim, Michelle, and their children are taking their story to New York City to speak at an Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) conference, entitled, "Preparing for the Crisis: Diagnosing & Caring or People in Their 30s, 40s, & 50s with Young-Onset Alzheimer's Disease".

"In general, there is still such a fear and stigma surrounding this disease," notes AFA President and CEO Eric J. Hall. "So regardless of age, people are not talking to their doctor about it. And when the patient is young, some doctors don't even consider the possibility. So this conference -- and the Muellers -- are helping us get the word out, because getting people treated early is effective in helping to offset the symptoms of the disease."

"I want to encourage people to pay attention to other people," Michelle says. "And when they start noticing something peculiar, I would encourage them to mention it to their bosses and even make a phone call to their families and let them know that this is going on. Because I really believe that, had I had known what was going on at an earlier time I could've gotten Jim in sooner to the doctor, and I would've been able to make better preparations to take care of my family."

"My mission," Jim adds, "is to help people. And I want to tell them, 'Don't think it can't happen to you.' Because it can."

Jim is determined to publicize his cautionary tale, even if, at times, he finds it increasingly difficult to gather his thoughts. "Sometimes, I have all these words in my head, but it's hard to get them out," he says. "It's all there. But it's just hard to get them out."

Yet on a good day, when rested and relaxed, Jim speaks clearly -- with clarity and authority. Nevertheless, Michelle believes that he is now in the latter part of the second stage of Alzheimer's -- following the first stage of initial memory loss and confusion, and preceding the final stage of persona
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