Public Pulse: Help with early onset Alzheimer’s; Consolidate school districts; Delay hurts rural hospitals

An estimated 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 are living with Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and my mother, Anne Marie, was one of them. As someone who cared for a loved one with dementia, I understand the burden that 34,000 Nebraskans with Alzheimer’s and their families are facing. I lost my mom in February at age 60 after an eight-year-battle with this horrific disease. When my mom was diagnosed, I was 22 and my sister was 16. Our father had died a few years prior to brain cancer, and we were on our own. Alzheimer’s is exceptionally difficult when the individual is younger than 65. My mother could no longer teach. She lost her job, her income and insurance that supported us. My sister in high school, who didn’t have her license, drove our mom to appointments because there was no alternative. I’d leave work every day at lunch to check on her because we couldn’t afford in-home care. I want to thank Sen. Deb Fischer from the bottom of my heart for co-sponsoring the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act. I’m grateful that politicians like Fischer understand the challenges and want to make positive changes for families like ours. Through the act, individuals under 60 living with the disease would have access to transportation, respite services for family caregivers and other services to improve the quality of life. I’m asking other members of Congress to please co-sponsor the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act of 2019 (H.R. 1903/S. 901) to help families get the support they desperately need. A tremendous amount of energy was expended during the recent Nebraska legislative session regarding the high cost of property taxes and proposals to reduce that burden. Nebraska has become a very expensive state in which to reside from a tax perspective. Along with the […]

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