It was Sunday morning and I met Betty in the bright lounge area of the home. I can tell she is excited and hesitant about meeting a new person.

“Don’t you young folks have other things to do than come meet us oldies here?” she chuckled.

“I am here because I want to be,” was my response.

We decided to go for a short walk in the neighborhood, the air was crisp and the sun was bright.

She told me how much has changed since her days, and how the internet has brought the whole world closer but caused a rift in real human interactions.

“You kids don’t talk to each other anymore, you send messages. It wasn’t like that in my days.”

One of her favorite stories to tell is of her love story, a sweet and candid tale of her Henry-whom she met when she was 18 and he was 22. He went to WWII in 1944, and she said it broke her heart.

“I wrote him a letter every day for a year. My heart would sink every day I did not get a letter back. I didn’t know if he was dead or alive,” said Betty. “It was a different time- we refused to give up on each other even when it got difficult- it’s never easy you know.”

She looked at the trees and the beach like it was the first time she was ever seeing them.

“Henry came back and we got married. I still have all the letters; my eyesight doesn’t let me read them easily,” she said with a smile.

Betty has Alzheimer’s, a type of dementia, which she suddenly developed in the last year. Alzheimer’s causes difficulty with memory, thinking and behavior over time. Some of the symptoms develop slowly and have a tendency to get worse over time.

There are times when Alzheimer’s is so severe that it interferes with every day activities.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, which is a common term for memory loss and other abilities that may interfere with daily life.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that worsens over time over a number of years. In the beginning, memory loss may seem minor but it has a tendency to get worse over time. Some individuals with a late-stage of Alzheimer’s are unable to carry a conversation or react to the surroundings and the environment.

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging; it is mostly people over the age of 65 that are likely to have the onset. However, some individuals develop Alzheimer’s as early as in their 40s and 50s.

Currently, Alzheimer’s has no cure, but in a hopeful light- there are treatments for symptoms and the research to treat it continues.

“Henry was a Protestant and I was Baptist, no one agreed to marry us. It was quite scandalous,” said Betty. “I think the priest who married us was a Jewish immigrant from Russia- I don’t remember too well.”

We strolled back to her home by tea time. Every one gathered around as the lounge filled with years of wisdom and ginger snap cookies.

She looked at her cup of tea and said, "I am forgetting things...I hope I will always remember you, Henry."

“I will see you next week Betty,” said I with a goodbye.

Next Sunday Betty will meet me for the first time and hopefully tell me the charming fairy-tale of Henry.

Credit: Onmogul