May 30, 2015 2 min read

I would like to congratulate the Observer-Reporter staff on the Golden Quill Award it received from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania for its 2014 series on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The staff’s passion for the subject hit home for me. My mother’s condition graced your front page a few years ago. Her dementia made her forget she was cooking something, and two angels pulled her out of her smoke-filled home before the fire department arrived. She appeared confused and abandoned on the sidewalk in the photos, and some members of our community voiced disgust over the article and didn’t feel the portrayal was deserving of her.

My wife and I were living in Panama at the time. After your story brought her condition to light, the family was able to obtain legal guardianship over her affairs. With her cooperation, we found a suitable nursing facility, and the next year she appeared on the front page of the Observer-Reporter again, only this time it was a Mother’s Day article recognizing her as the “Mother of the Year” and her legacy of love and service for this community. The article highlighted her accomplishments and the condition of dementia. It also demonstrated how families find strength when dementia and Alzheimer’s robs a loved one of the ability to care for him-or herself.

In her final days, she was surrounded by loving family members and friends and passed away quietly in her sleep.

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia continue to affect our community. We must be tolerant of those who suffer.

Fred Fleet

Washington

Fleet is the president and CEO of the Highland Ridge Community Development Corp.