I love you/ Je t’aime

I love you / Je t’aime. Those were always the very last words said by my mother every time I hung up the phone or went to bed as a child. Saying those words bring an intense rush of emotion and of memories every time I now hear them. I say them to my daughters every night- almost like passing on an important tradition of sorts.

This year, I am dedicating my team’s name to my beautiful mom, Louise Leclair. As you all know, she has been suffering from the unforgiving Alzheimer’s disease for the last 4 years. As a caregiver, I have lived 4 years of a roller coaster of emotions. It has been mentally draining at times, and it has even pushed me to recognize strength that I did not even know I had. My unconditional love for my mom made it so that I never would give up, but as someone who has gone through it- I can tell you that the various stages of this disease is something else. Every stage is different and hard and difficult to accept. Every stage feels harsh and incredibly bad…but then the next stage comes in where you wish you could go back to the previous one. This disease is unforgiving. I wish I could pay all of the money in this world to “have my mom back”, but of course there isn’t and I can’t. I have felt powerless, I have experienced moments where my own mother did not know who I was, moments recently where we thought we were going to lose her completely. I have cried, screamed, laughed and loved and I hope in a small way I can help someone who is starting this process, feel and understand better, the way someone did for me.

So this year, I am walking for the I love you/ Je t’aime Walk for Alzheimer’s Team. If you would like to join me during this walk on Sunday, May 28th, please do. I would love to have you by my side. If you would like to send me the names of your loved ones who have suffered at the hand of this disease, I will gladly add their name to my list on the day of the walk (list of people who I am walking for). And if you would like to donate to help the Montreal Alzheimer’s Society out, your donation will go a long way to help patients of this disease along with their caregivers. Either way, thank you for your love and support!