March• 2018 | 127bargain? Live with hunting for words,
misplacing her belongings, not driv-
ing? Why not? She knew nothing
would return her to the person she
had been, but being freeze-dried
where she was better than the ugliness
of the disease’s end stage.
Meanwhile, Geri and her husband
gave more talks on Alzheimer’s. They
were becoming apostles for how to
live with the disease. But she needed
to do more. She wanted to see strate-
gies identified and shared for navigat-
ing the everyday world, for wrenching
survival out of this disease. Since she
had it, she felt she was an authority.
InAugust,Gerimetwithtwo
CaringKindstaffmembers.Geri
gave her pitch. She didn’t wantatraditionalsupportgroup.She
wanted a group to share strategies,
anAlzheimer’stutorialthatcould
be peer-driven. “We don’t want to
bedoneto,wewanttodo.”
CaringKindsetupaseriesofthree
workshopstoswapstrategiesforliv-
ingwithearly-stagememoryloss.For
and by the underdogs. People voiced
their problems. There was interest in
clinical drug trials. Strategies were
calledoutandputonawhiteboard.
Geri Taylor offered her ideas. Of
howtorelyonasmartphone,social-
ising frequently, inventing reminders
and finding a purpose. She suggested
the group should have handbooks
published detailing these strategies.
PHOTO: MICHAEL KIRBY SMITH FOR Later, the Taylors met with the
THE
NEW YORK TIMES
Geri Taylor in Florida, where she and her husband travelled in 2015