-
Period: to
The life of Concetta Tagliamonte from birth to present day.
All photos provided by Maria Leach. -
Age 18
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. -
Age 21
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. -
Age 23
Connie's firstborn child, Salvatore Tagliamonte, was born. -
Age 28
Connie gave birth to her second child, Maria Tagliamonte (now Maria Leach), pictured here at age 1. -
Age 51
Connie attends the wedding of her daughter, Maria. -
Age 60
At age 60, Connie would not meet her Alzheimer's diagnosis for another 18 years. But Maria already sensed something was not quite right. -
Age 75
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." -
Age 78
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. -
Age 81
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. -
Age 87
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.
