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All photos provided by Maria Leach.
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Connie at age 18 with a full life ahead of her. Little did she know her final years would be spent fighting a debilitating brain disorder.
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Connnie married the love of her life, Vincent Tagliamonte, who now serves as her primary caregiver. His health is rapidly declining, leaving him to rely more and more on his daughter for help.
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Connie's firstborn child, Salvatore Tagliamonte, was born.
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Connie gave birth to her second child, Maria Tagliamonte (now Maria Leach), pictured here at age 1.
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Connie attends the wedding of her daughter, Maria.
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At age 60, Connie would not meet her Alzheimer's diagnosis for another 18 years. But Maria already sensed something was not quite right.
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Connie's symptoms became worse. "She was making silly mistakes that nobody really noticed," said Maria. She was also angrier and moodier than normal. "But we realized something was really wrong when she forgot where she parked her car and things like that."
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Connie was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the Memory Disorder Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. At this point Maria quit her job to help coordinate her mother's care. “It was a relief for me to find out something was wrong,” she said.
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The beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease was not easy for Connie and her family. She was put on anti-psychotics to help control symptoms of aggitation and aggressiveness. Her daughter attributed these symptoms to confusion and fear.
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Connie is now in the middle stages of Alzheimer's disease. "Her world is getting smaller and smaller," said Maira "She’s down to just one story. She has to tell that one story over and over." She can still walk at this point, although her care is difficult to handle at times.
