Untangling Caring for a Husband with Early Onset Alzheimer’s with Renée Harmon, MD

Today’s guest is Renée Brown Harmon, MD, author of the teaching memoir “Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer's: Principles of Caregiving That Kept Me Upright.” She and her husband Harvey created, developed, and shared a thriving family medicine private practice in Birmingham, Alabama, for more than twenty years. In 2010, Harvey, at age 50, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and forced to retire. Renée became “The Queen of Everything” at work and at home. She was a solo physician at their practice as well as Harvey’s primary caregiver, and primary parent to their two teenaged daughters. With reluctance and resentment, she also took on the role of head of household. It was a lot, but she managed to “surf the waves,” which she shares in her insightful book. Harvey’s dementia journey ended in memory care in 2018. Renée retired in 2019 and uses her time and talents to write and speak on Alzheimer’s and dementia while advocating for caregivers.  In this episode we discuss how being a physician affected her caregiving journey, how she tried to do it all herself but learned to reach out for help, and the creative ways her friends helped her and Harvey. Read Renée’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2020/06/16/renee-harmon-earlyonset-alz-blog/  Start reading "Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer's: Principles of Caregiving That Kept Me Upright" now! https://amzn.to/3atH7jU Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales. Connect with Renée Website: https://www.reneeharmon.com/ Blog: https://www.reneeharmon.com/blog/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reneeharmonauthor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneeharmon_writes/?hl=en About the Podcast AlzAuthors is the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer’s and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Our podcast introduces you to our authors who share their stories and insights to provide knowledge, comfort, and support. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you, please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends on their own dementia journeys. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please donate here. Ideas and opinions expressed in this podcast belong to the speakers and not AlzAuthors. Always consult your healthcare provider and legal and financial consultants for advice on any of the topics covered here. Thanks for listening. We are a Whole Care Network Featured Podcast Proud to be on The Health Podcast Network Find us on The World Podcast Network and babyboomer.org Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know Shop our Store Join our book club