00:00:11:14 - 00:00:36:18 Unknown Hi, I'm Gail. And hi, I'm Katherine. Welcome to women over 70 agent reimagined. Our award winning weekly podcast. Now in its sixth year, there's that women over 70.com and learned about all our offerings and ways to become involved. Consider visiting or joining Aging Reimagined Circle and as a member, enjoy free participation in our monthly online programs. 00:00:36:18 - 00:01:01:03 Unknown We want to thank our sponsors. Intensive. You know, as skin agents, it becomes more fragile and bruises easily. Especially in the back of your hands or forearms. I'm loving skin tensor Bruce Cream, developed by Harvard trained dermatologist specifically for mature skin. It gently moisturizes and helps process date faster. Find it at skin intensive.com for 25% off. 00:01:01:04 - 00:01:07:01 Unknown Use the code capital W capital 070. That stands for women over 70. 00:01:07:16 - 00:01:37:21 Unknown And today we're pleased to have author and advocate for women aging, Nicole J. Smith, who knows all too well how caring for a parent with dementia can upend your life. Her book, Diagnosis Dementia Your Guide for Elder Care Planning and Crisis Management, recounts her story how she was blindsided by her mother's post-pandemic mental decline and eventual official diagnosis of Alzheimer's. 00:01:37:23 - 00:02:05:11 Unknown As the denial and drama escalated, Nicole and her aunt Nancy created a transcontinental plan to find their loved one a safe, secure senior residence. From a daughter's point of view, Nicole tells their story of shock, research, worry, discovery, and ultimate success. And she also shares information and tips to help others find their way through one of life's most difficult passages. 00:02:05:13 - 00:02:32:07 Unknown So, Nicole, welcome to women over 70. Aging reimagined. Thank you for providing all of us with this important book. I read it from cover to cover, and I really felt that it imparted so much for others who are dealing with dementia and Alzheimer's. And thank you so much. That means a lot. Yeah. You're welcome. You know, in fact, it reads more like a novel. 00:02:32:07 - 00:02:45:19 Unknown And yet your interpretation of the facts as they occurred offer a chilling recount of the enormity of dealing with dementia of a loved one. And so how did you decide on the format for the book? 00:02:45:19 - 00:02:54:12 Unknown Well, I am a book person. I do a lot of reading. For about 15 years, I was a volunteer for a global literacy organization. 00:02:54:14 - 00:03:18:17 Unknown And, I was actually in the process of writing another book about the value of volunteerism, because I come from a long line of volunteers in my family. And then, I couldn't really find the book that I wanted to help me figure this out. I mean, of course, there's books out there you've got, what's it called, a 36 hour day? 00:03:18:17 - 00:03:39:14 Unknown And, you know, some other books that I, I found mostly there were books that were memoirs that talked about relationships and how to interact with people with dementia. But I just didn't feel like there was a book that was a resource manual for people like me in the sandwich generation. And, having issues with the kids and the parents and the distance. 00:03:39:14 - 00:04:05:08 Unknown So I, you know, I have three different parents in different states and kids in different states, and it just added a level of complexity to, the issues I was dealing with. And so as I was going through this, I was looking for resources, websites, movies, podcasts, books, and as I came across different resources that I found helpful, I started cataloging them and making a list. 00:04:05:08 - 00:04:16:07 Unknown And then, of course, as I was going through this, the, I was writing it was kind of a cathartic process to kind of process all of this. And then I ended up with 80,000 words. So. 00:04:16:07 - 00:04:29:05 Unknown let's let's go back to the beginning a little bit. Okay. So how how did your mother's dementia actually reveal itself? And, when did you realize how serious it was? 00:04:29:07 - 00:04:54:19 Unknown It was she lived in Los Angeles and I lived in new Jersey, and we've always been a close family. But, we only saw each other a couple times a year with the kids and work and different things. So, in hindsight, she started having issues, I think, in 2017, 2018 where she would say things or do things and we just would say, oh, that's weird. 00:04:54:21 - 00:05:13:12 Unknown And I just chalk them up to that's weird moments. And, I didn't know anything about dementia. I don't really necessarily associate it with aging, per se. I mean, she was early 70s and and, I didn't know what was normal aging, what was normal aging, but it was just like, oh, that's weird that mom did that or said that. 00:05:13:14 - 00:05:37:12 Unknown And then and in hindsight, so it was a gradual process, leading up to, what eventually was more serious, say, seeing the doctor and getting the diagnosis. And that was kind of driven by my Aunt Nancy, who is her older sister and a nurse, that she was also living in Maryland on the other side of this country. 00:05:37:14 - 00:06:06:21 Unknown But she started to facilitate more of the, the diagnosis, that we ultimately got. Wow. And how did your mother respond to the diagnosis? Well, she was in denial, which is common for dementia to be paranoid. Denial not not cooperating. And it wasn't necessarily the dementia. Well there was a couple things going on. 00:06:06:21 - 00:06:29:24 Unknown So she lived in this wonderful, beautiful, amazing house in Los Angeles that she lived in for 20 years. But, because she had sold her business and was now on Social Security and didn't really have a pension to rely on, and my stepdad had passed and, so she was running out of money and we knew this, and she didn't want to believe it and refused to believe it and was dipping into her savings. 00:06:29:24 - 00:06:46:00 Unknown And so part of it was I didn't understand what. No. You you ran a couple of different businesses. How can you not understand these numbers? And what I realized later is that's part of dementia. You just deny what you don't want to believe. And in her mind, she was a gazillionaire. And so we were saying, you have to move. 00:06:46:02 - 00:07:06:06 Unknown You have to move either to senior living or independent living or somewhere else. You need to make a plan. And she was having none of it. She loved her house. It was her fortress. Her sanctuary. And so she wasn't moving no matter what. And so then that snowballed into the other things. Oh my gosh, this is dementia. And this is serious. 00:07:06:06 - 00:07:13:16 Unknown And we need to think about what what our options are. And so it kind of snowballed. And from there, 00:07:13:16 - 00:07:30:22 Unknown was interested in, in all of the financial issues that you talked about in the book and, and, you know, everyone's financial status is different. And but left unmanaged dementia can really take its toll. And, and be life threatening, of course. 00:07:30:22 - 00:07:56:01 Unknown And and be, like what you found was your mother life. In terms of finance, very difficult. And so you devoted quite a chapters of that, legal and, financial documents that we need. So can you talk a little bit about that? Absolutely. I, I like to say I am not a lawyer. I'm not a financial advisor. 00:07:56:01 - 00:08:25:06 Unknown I'm not a doctor. I'm not a nurse. I'm not a social worker. But I've definitely, figured out all of those terms like I talk about is learning new languages simultaneously under duress, because everybody's got their acronyms and their terminology. So what I always tell people from what I know now is make sure you have your powers of attorney for financial and medical for yourself, your parents and your kids over 18, because that is like the starting point into having some control. 00:08:25:08 - 00:08:46:21 Unknown And there's caveats to all that, but that is like the number one entree into this world and giving you a little bit of, of control. And it also can drive those discussions that we need to have about aging and what decisions need to be made. And there's also now mental health powers of attorney and certain states that you can look into. 00:08:46:23 - 00:09:14:18 Unknown So my mother had her will, her trust her, powers of attorney. She had all of that done and signed, sealed and delivered. But, the caveat was, is that she, she had to be declared incapacitated by two separate doctors in order for us to take control as trustees. And that was difficult because doctors and lawyers don't really mix. 00:09:14:18 - 00:09:34:17 Unknown And the doctors, even though we had the diagnosis from the neurologist and agreement from the primary care physician, they didn't want the write the letters that went to legal to allow us to have control. It took us eight months to get those eight months. And my aunt, being a nurse for half a century, was in the portals talking to them, working with them, and they trusted her. 00:09:34:20 - 00:09:58:03 Unknown It still took eight months. So that was that was a challenge. The other thing I didn't understand, that I understand now is that, my elder law attorney was pushing for us to do conservatorship, which is a whole very expensive way to get control of the finances, which we had control of once we got those letters. 00:09:58:09 - 00:10:21:02 Unknown But I didn't know about that. Guardianship was separate, which is control over the person. So even though we had all the trust and everything and the letters, finally we could not by law force her to leave her house. That requires a court order and a guardianship and takes lawyers and time and and, you know, we were running out of time. 00:10:21:04 - 00:10:45:12 Unknown So it was it was a nightmare. And so what ended up happening is we were the other option we discovered is we could take her to the ER and if the ER admitted her for mental breakdown, dementia, whatever, then they would take her. But she ended up flying to Maryland, leaving in the middle of the night. We tracked her down. 00:10:45:12 - 00:10:53:06 Unknown There were police, security guards, everything involved. Then I took her to the ER in new Jersey. Then she ended up in the hospital and then behavioral health and then memory 00:10:53:06 - 00:11:00:07 Unknown So it is a very long story. I'd like, you know, three states involved and I mean, yes. Yeah. I just you can't make this up. 00:11:00:07 - 00:11:01:21 Unknown But you were lucky you found her. 00:11:01:21 - 00:11:19:22 Unknown Yeah. I mean, and and luckily, I even though we had the documents every she was very she would go in her office and lock things and hide things and change things. And so we would trying to take pictures of passwords and stuff. So we, we found her because we had the tracking on her phone, but she turned her phone off. 00:11:19:24 - 00:11:44:00 Unknown But luckily I was able to dial in to the credit card company and use the password that I had stolen to figure out where she had charged and found out she booked a flight. And it's it's a long story, but luckily, yes, we found her. And, and through a series of doctors and flips and tricks and travels, she ended up in memory care and a and a good place. 00:11:44:02 - 00:12:06:05 Unknown And all of that sounds when you talk about finances, sounds really expensive. Yeah. So I'm fortunate that I, my husband was recently retired so he could hang out with my five kids. They had five kids all through this, and I could start flying across the country. I could afford the flights. I could afford, taking care of certain things. 00:12:06:07 - 00:12:27:02 Unknown And then, the other thing is that she had, she couldn't afford to stay in her house, but when she sold her house, it had good and value in 20 years. California. Real estate. And, so once we sold her house, now she has plenty of money for her care, which is $9,000 a month, and memory care. 00:12:27:04 - 00:12:46:19 Unknown And the latest statistic that I looked up is that the average cost of memory care for a person with dementia, or cost of caring for someone, dementia is over $400,000 through the end of their lifetime. And we've we're, you know, we're well on our way to that. And she could live another ten years, but she's physically really healthy. 00:12:46:21 - 00:13:11:08 Unknown Yeah. Right. I just want to go back to the farms you were talking about from I noticed in the book a form called pulsed EOL, LSD, and that's not one I've ever heard of or or seen. Can you just tell us what that is? Correct. And I think they've been around for about ten years, and the acronym may change depending on what state you're in. 00:13:11:08 - 00:13:34:22 Unknown Sometimes it's with an M, it's the physician's order for life sustaining treatment. So or sometimes it's a medical order for life sustaining treatment. And so what that is, is it's so some of these are legal forms and some of these are physician forms. So it's a physician form that you fill out with your physician to say, I don't want intubation. 00:13:34:22 - 00:13:53:20 Unknown I don't want resuscitation, I don't want this, I don't want this, I do want this. So it's a it's a little bit different in every state. But I think there's also a national registry. But it's a, it's a form that that gets into the nitty gritty about what you want and you don't want done to your person in an emergency situation. 00:13:53:20 - 00:14:20:24 Unknown And you have to keep it on your fridge, on your door, and on your person in your car. Like, I think they have cards too. So it's, it's a it's like another step that you can take to make your wishes know. And that's different from DNR. I think that again, it depends on the state. And I'm not a doctor, but I think it has like different sections on there for do not resuscitate, do not intubate, do not, whatever feeding tubes. 00:14:20:24 - 00:14:41:07 Unknown And yeah. So I would say discuss it with your physician physician in your state. And then also at also ask them where do I keep this. Because if you're at home and you fall, I mean, and you collapse or whatever, the EMTs are going to rush in and save you unless you're throwing this warm in their face. Right? 00:14:41:07 - 00:15:06:05 Unknown So because their job is to show up, resuscitate, do their job without any kind of questions or interruptions unless you intervene and or someone who's with you or your your medical advocate. It's it's complicated, but you can it is on again, a lot of these forms facilitate these discussions with your physician, with your family, with your loved one, because otherwise people are left guessing. 00:15:06:05 - 00:15:24:05 Unknown What does mom want? What does dad want? We're in a crisis situation. We don't have time. We can't ask them. And that that's where all these forms come in. And the the bigger picture is driving the conversation about death, dying and of life, which none of us want to discuss does. It's not very pleasant, but it's it's a fact of life. 00:15:24:10 - 00:16:08:20 Unknown And Right. Yes. And so it's what I gathered from reading the book and, and from talking with you, of course, your mother was able to, to appear completely normal when she sensed it was to her benefit to do so and yes, then I. Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah. Go ahead and, and that is also very common in dementia that I've learned in, cognitive change because I guess someone recently said it's like a different part of the brain that can kind of, I don't know if it's adrenaline or something that kind of you can rise to the occasion when you know you're being evaluated and seem perfectly normal and together and, and 00:16:08:20 - 00:16:32:06 Unknown the dementia isn't an on off switch. It's like different things firing in the brain and the brain working together. And, that was clearly evident when she was with the neurologist. She was pulling it together. And then the funny thing is, so when she ended up in the emergency room, admitted in new Jersey and the the psychiatrist, the went to evaluator at the hospital, they called me and as well. 00:16:32:06 - 00:16:51:00 Unknown She's fine. Why is she here? She's fine. I'm like, oh. So then I had a faxed the letters from the doctors again and give them the history. And because she and then she had worked in health care. So she's throwing HIPAA around and demanding things and, you know, calling the shots and and she's very she's a force. Right. 00:16:51:00 - 00:17:06:02 Unknown Like, now, you know, saying all the right things to get people scared that she's going to sue them or report them. And, you know, she's very feisty. So it was such a challenge. And that's somewhat common. Like they can feel like, oh they're fine. 00:17:06:02 - 00:17:09:15 Unknown are you concerned at all about your own potential for dementia? 00:17:09:15 - 00:17:28:06 Unknown Well, yes or no. So I, again, I'm not a physician, but I, I follow all the research, and now there's biomarkers. You can get tested. So I have not been tested for the ApoE4 gene. I have not been tested for anything. I don't know if my mother has it. 00:17:28:06 - 00:18:00:06 Unknown So my my mother's older sister has vascular dementia, which is a different kind. My mother has Alzheimer's. My stepmother has aphasia. And then, when she's not related, of course. And then, my aunt, who's the nurse who is 84, is absolutely fine cognitively, physically, everything. She is a dynamo of volunteering, traveling, you know, crazy, wonderful. So I, I don't know, and my dad had normal pressure hydrocephalus, which is a fluid on the brain, and there's different kinds of. 00:18:00:06 - 00:18:23:01 Unknown He had the shunt surgery, and he's absolutely fine now, which is amazing. Another amazing story. But okay, so I've asked the question. Well, I, from the research that I follow, the they are saying lifestyle plays a huge factor in whether you develop or dementia or not. And that's what some of the current science says. So I work out regularly. 00:18:23:01 - 00:18:44:24 Unknown I always have exercises, my mental and physical release. I cook a lot of my own food. I read a lot. I have a social network that I enjoy. But as I as I tell my kids, you can do everything right and buy the book and still get hit by a bus or get cancer or get dementia. So there's no guarantees in life. 00:18:45:01 - 00:19:04:22 Unknown So I take care of myself the best I can, with what I know and what I do. And just hope for the best. So. But women are twice as likely to develop dementia than men. And what is the research behind that? Or about what side I should for that? I don't know the reasoning, but they say because first they said, well, women live longer. 00:19:04:22 - 00:19:26:05 Unknown And the other fact that I know is age is the biggest risk factor for dementia. So when you're 65, you have about a 10% chance of having dementia. When you get to 75, it jumps to like, I think, they're 13 or 30 and then but but people in their mid 80s, one and three have dementia, some kind of dementia. 00:19:26:11 - 00:19:51:24 Unknown And there's like 100 different kinds, about about nine common types. Like you've heard of Parkinson's or frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular dementia, Alzheimer's and Alzheimer's is the most common. And then mixed dementia. So you can have a couple different ones going on to. So but anyway, so, yeah. So age is the biggest risk factor. Yes. 00:19:51:24 - 00:20:20:06 Unknown It amazing. Yes. Something something more for me to think about as well on my Right. Well, I was just with we were at a graduation this weekend. We were with, one of the aunts, and she she's about to turn 100, and she is, like, sharp as all get out and amazing. And then one of the other grandpas is 90, and he's just, you know, walking around campus and and talking about his life in the service all over the world. 00:20:20:06 - 00:20:45:23 Unknown I mean, yeah, I you just don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In, in the book, I noticed in many places that you talk a lot about record keeping and how important that was and how it served you. Can you share some of that with us? Yeah. Well, I'm kind of a chronological person, and I was just, Well, record keeping from just tracking your health, health history. 00:20:46:00 - 00:21:09:09 Unknown And then also, I just, I was bombarded with trying to figure out, okay, well, where's the taxes? Where how do I get it? Or social Security? How do I, figure out this or that or, the more like, how much to show on the mortgage and off the as at the kind of records you're talking about. You'll everything that you did in order to manage your, your mother's situation. 00:21:09:11 - 00:21:26:03 Unknown Yeah. Well, it was, it was a back and forth. So I would fly out and my aunt would fly out, and we would kind of take turns because we, we would get these frantic calls from my mother, and she was alone in her house, and she would be like, I'm going to take a bottle of pills. I'm going to drive my car off a cliff. 00:21:26:03 - 00:21:58:13 Unknown I'm going to kill myself. And she was panicking. And then, you know, one of us would fly in and we would be there for less than 24 hours. And she's like, you know what? I think I'm fine. I'm going to stay in my house. I don't really need your help. Can you please leave? And so it was just like, and then, so every time we were there, if she was, like, sleeping or downstairs or whatever, I would sneak into her office and, like, try and, take pictures of her password sheet and then, trying to get, copies and copies of the trust and the Power of attorney. 00:21:58:13 - 00:22:22:08 Unknown Like, my aunt had done all this with her, but then then should we get mad at somebody and then change all the names and send it to her, an attorney, her attorney, and have it redone and then pay $1,000, and then three weeks later, do it again. And then I happened to be there one time when a new, you know, Fedex package came with her revised, well required signatures and and she grabbed it and when let me see it. 00:22:22:08 - 00:22:47:11 Unknown So then when she was distracted, I took it and hid it under the mask. I mean, it's it's a constant game of trying to just. And she was my mother. Like, I felt weird about like, I'm disobeying my mother. I'm lying to my mother. I'm sneaking around. Why am I my mother? But, I mean, I knew it was for her own good, but I still had the little girl in me going, oh my gosh, I'm going to get in trouble. 00:22:47:13 - 00:23:09:16 Unknown Oh, it's like the the documentation also of just every single interaction you have with the medical or legal person, which you found out when you had to produce some documents all over again. Right? No, I had to be organized. Right. And have, and I still wasn't completely organized because I was like, okay, what did I what did I get from that trip? 00:23:09:16 - 00:23:31:03 Unknown And where's that folder? And then and then when we went through, when she was in the, behavioral health and then I had to fly back and in two weeks, empty out the entire house for sale. And she had my grandma's records and her records and our, you know, and I was just trying. Is there anything valuable here and anything I need to, you know, she was kind of organized, but. 00:23:31:03 - 00:23:48:20 Unknown And she had her files in her folders, but just making sure we had all the right. And then I had to open a, once I did have control, I had to open a new, bank account in the name of the trust and get the checks for the trust and start writing the checks and get the house ready for sale. 00:23:48:20 - 00:24:07:02 Unknown And then, like, luckily, I'm married to a CPA, so he took care of all the taxes. And then we had Social Security. But then I had to figure out what Medicare to put her on because she had done different things with Medicare. And then moving from California to Maryland to Arizona, different Medicare program. I mean, it never ends. 00:24:07:02 - 00:24:31:23 Unknown It never ends. Literally. Where is she now? So we, we left new Jersey because, we were planning to retire in Arizona. So we moved to Tucson, Arizona a couple years ago, and six months after that, I moved here from Memory Care in Maryland, where she was near my aunt's to, Tucson. So she's now near me in the memory care, and I see her about 3 or 4 times a week. 00:24:31:23 - 00:24:49:05 Unknown And she just had her 80th birthday a few months ago, and, And. Yeah, but when I was, when she was in Maryland, I would drive the three hours back and forth each way to new Jersey or from new Jersey to Maryland to visit her where she was with my aunt to kind of take a load off my aunt. 00:24:49:07 - 00:25:09:02 Unknown Which was fine. But we and we got really close because of all this, because my aunt was really my rock and still is through this entire ordeal. You an only child? No no no. Oh my gosh. So I, I am the oldest of three. And then my parents divorced when I was young and my mom married a man had six children. 00:25:09:04 - 00:25:27:21 Unknown So I have a bunch of stepsisters that are all older. But, that was another thing that was challenging is my sister lived 15 minutes from my mother in LA, but she was having nothing to do with any of this. Like she made it a lot worse. Or she was like, well, you do it, but you're doing it wrong and you're doing this and you should do this. 00:25:27:21 - 00:25:33:07 Unknown I was like, well, if you're not going to help, then, then step aside. So I didn't speak to her for two years. 00:25:33:07 - 00:25:45:18 Unknown Yeah. And then but the sisters were helpful because both of their parents had passed and they have known my mom forever. And so I mean it's, you know, family dynamics is a whole other aspect to this. 00:25:45:18 - 00:26:11:11 Unknown And then my brother hasn't really been in touch for 20 years or so because he married a woman that my mother didn't like. So that relationship has been or was already strained. So yeah. So it's it's yeah. Not alone. But it also I think I got my aunt got my husband and I got elder law attorneys I hired and three states and then, whatever help I can get through, I mean, I asked for help. 00:26:11:11 - 00:26:33:05 Unknown I'm a good communicator and delegator, and that's how I've been able to navigate this. Good. And I'm glad to hear that she key message it. Well, I mean, you got to go to your strengths. Like I said, I'm not I'm not degreed in any of these things, but I know how to find people and ask and listen and use their expertise to to get what I need done. 00:26:33:07 - 00:26:55:22 Unknown And weren't you recently certified as a senior advisor. But. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. So a certified senior advisor is a it's they're based in Denver but it's, it's a class that you take that covers everything. Elder care. They're called specialists in aging or we're called specialists in aging. So I, I got they sent me a box of books. 00:26:55:23 - 00:27:24:16 Unknown I'd read all these books, like manuals. And then I went to a three day class, and you could do it online or in person. I did it in person. And then I took an exam like a, you know, a couple, a two hour exam, and it, they cover everything related to seniors. So housing, moving Medicare, Medicaid, taxes, dementia, longevity statistics research. 00:27:24:18 - 00:27:44:19 Unknown So it's it's everything that I've been doing for the last five years, but I still learned a lot. And then you have to do continuing education to keep your, advisor designation. And so I, I'm already doing that. Because ta ta. And then they're having a conference in, the DC area in August. So I'm going to that. 00:27:44:19 - 00:28:05:21 Unknown They have a conference every year. Do you intend to do anything more with this, or is it simply to enlighten yourself, to be able to help your mother in the best way? Well, both. Well, I'm also helping my father and my stepmother. My father just moved my stepmother into memory care in Iowa. So I'm navigating I mean, he's doing a great job, and I'm kind of listening. 00:28:05:23 - 00:28:26:07 Unknown And his his support. And the other thing that came up out of this was he had nothing done in the terms of legal documents. No will, no trust. No. And that was a whole other couple chapters in the book about that. But, I know I, I wanted to have something to, designate that I, I know my stuff. 00:28:26:09 - 00:28:57:02 Unknown And also I'm a huge networker. There's a, there's a lot of, a lot of activity in this eldercare space with ever people trying to use AI and, and, technology and services and all kinds of stuff. So I continue to go to conferences. I'm going to a think tank conference conference in Austin in December. So I as partly just, enhance my knowledge and also to network with everybody else in the elder aging space. 00:28:57:04 - 00:29:16:09 Unknown Well, you're a great role. Know I'm going to say Gail and I recently attended the American Society on Aging conference. Have you, have you been are you connected with that organization? No. But I mean, send it over. I mean, there's so much going on. I mean, between Facebook and LinkedIn and Instagram, like one pops up all the time. 00:29:16:09 - 00:29:35:03 Unknown So I tend to go to the ones that are in Phoenix or Tucson or I've been to. I go to 1 or 2 conferences a year, but anyone that you think is good, let me know. And, yeah. And I usually kind of combine travel, to conference visit with family and, and, work it out that way. 00:29:35:05 - 00:30:07:01 Unknown I kind of felt depressed. But then, how many sessions dealt with dementia and Alzheimer's? Yeah. Yeah. So you have a lot to offer there? Yes. Well, you're a terrific role model. We wish you so much. Good luck in continuing your journey in this area. And, let me show your book for you, diagnosis dementia. And, it's well worth reading everybody. 00:30:07:01 - 00:30:35:05 Unknown And we we, we just wish you lots and lots and. Well, good luck. Nicole. With the strike, I thank the opportunity to to chat with you all and I'd like I, like you mentioned and the book was designed to be a, a story, a narrative like our narrative and also a resource manual and it's divided into sections and it's small so you can put it in your purse if you have to at the doctor's office and you don't know what to ask, what to do. 00:30:35:10 - 00:30:54:24 Unknown If you got a call with your elder law attorney, you don't know what to ask or what to do if you just have basic questions about dementia. So I tried to break it down into the legal, the medical, the financial, the caregiving, the practical, and then intersperse it with all of the juicy details of our journey. There's a it's still ongoing in here. 00:30:54:24 - 00:31:20:20 Unknown Yeah, lots and lots of sections and so much good information. So again, we thank you very much. You know, you and listeners, because of your loyalty, our numbers continue to grow. Still, we'd like to see more of you and our our monthly online programs. So join Agent Reimagined Circle and participate for no charge and make your voice heard as together they change the conversation about women aging. 00:31:20:22 - 00:31:39:10 Unknown And if you like this podcast, we also want to recommend Boomer Banter. Real talk about aging well with cope with host Wendy Greens takes you on a journey to explore how to live vibrantly and healthily with strong relationships and purpose. As we age. 00:31:39:10 - 00:31:43:07 Unknown So. And Wendy believes that aging well requires preparation and vision. 00:31:43:14 - 00:31:49:24 Unknown She covers topics around financial literacy, mental and physical health, relationships and purpose. 00:31:49:24 - 00:31:51:09 Unknown So thank you for listening.