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You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”

My name is Karen Sandone, and my husband, Anthony, was diagnosed with Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 55 in September 2023, after nearly two years of searching for answers. Hearing those words — “It’s Alzheimer’s” — changed our lives in an instant.

Like so many couples, we had dreams of what our future would look like — retiring together, traveling, and spending time with our six grown children and our two beautiful grandbabies. But those plans shifted the day we received Anthony’s diagnosis.

Now, two years later, our family has chosen to share our story — not because it’s easy, but because we know how many others are walking this same path. Through honesty and connection, we hope to raise awareness, offer understanding, and help others feel a little less alone.

I’m honored to serve as an Ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Association and as a Congressional Advocate with the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, fighting for increased funding and better resources for families living with this disease.

We are truly on this journey together — learning, grieving, and finding grace and purpose along the way.

Hi everyone, my name is Eileen Ware.  My husband, Steve, was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s in June 2021 at the young  age of 54. He had retired from law enforcement at 50. The diagnosis took nearly a year after we began noticing signs during the Covid pandemic. At that time, our boys were just 10 and 13 years old. Steve was a wonderful husband and father, always prioritizing our family. 

Over the past four and a half years, I balanced full-time work, parenting both our boys, and providing care for Steve. In June 2024, he was also diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia after showing additional symptoms. Unfortunately, Steve passed away in January of this year after a courageous battle with both Early Onset Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia.

We have been surrounded by love and support from our family, friends and incredible community.  We also were able to find 2 angels as  caregivers so that I could continue to work.  

My name is Becca O’Neil and my husband Charlie was diagnosed with younger onset Alzheimer's  in Nov 2023. Charlie carries two genetic markers that have disqualified him for the Leqembi infusions. He was placed on Donepezil and we did see immediate improvement in his cognitive ability and executive functioning. Today with some additional medications Charlie is stable moving between stages 3 and 4 on the FAST scale. Recently he has been experiencing symptoms of Aphasia.

Receiving a terminal diagnosis for our family was absolutely devastating. The reality was that he had lost his job four months prior (he was a software sales executive for 25 years) and we lost access to long-term disability. Dealing with both a health crisis and a financial crisis at the same time has definitely reshaped the landscape of our lives. 

My hope is that by sharing our journey here, we can create a space where others facing similar challenges feel seen, supported, and less alone. We live in Newport, RI and have two children now 21 and 23. 

My name is Cheri Davies and my husband Chris was diagnosed with Younger Onset Alzheimer’s in June 2019 just a month before he turned 52. He had retired from a 20 year law enforcement career and were living a terrific life in upstate NY. Our son was just finishing his first year of college. They are incredibly close, and Chris is a great dad. Chris was very active, hiking, mountain biking, camping, and it was devastating to watch his interests slowly fading away . 

Chris started showing symptoms about two years before the diagnosis but it shocking to hear the words Alzheimer’s at our age. He initially took Aricept and that stalled the early progression of symptoms but only for about 7 months. Some of the drug options out there not were not available when he was still in the early stages. He is in stage 6 of the FAST scale. Moderate severe is the category . His disease has progressed much faster in the past 6 months and it’s devastating to go through, but we are fortunate to have a community around us of family and friends.