@ojacobs08 I am sorry you're at a loss and know firsthand, as well as all others on this site, how overwhelming any memory loss diagnosis is, (young or old) whether MCI, Alzheimers-Dementia, in whatever stage they're in. It's frightening especially with three young teenagers in the house, which can be helpful for you when you share with them what's happening to Dad. When my own husband was diagnosed last year with the APOE-4 gene as well, I was devastated, frightened and had so much fear of the unknown. The best thing you can do, is get with the neurologist, which you're doing, find out if he qualifies for any line of treatment. And start treatment if you can. My husband is on lequembe every two week infusions - his 27th right now. Either way, with or without treatment, depending upon whether it's Mild Cognitive Impairment or further along, you want to get as educated as you can so you aren't as fearful over what's happening and what might come. Even though my husband has MCI in its early stages - because it can be a pre-cursor to Alzheimer's-Dementia, I joined this blog, and I'm religiously on it, every day. I read everything I can and I post. Posting is powerful, it helps you and others. I get emails from Dr Natali Edmonds, a gerontologist who specializes on Alzheimers Dementia, and her UTUBES are so helpful. You can join her "Collective" group which I haven't done yet. She explains what's going on in the brain, why they do the things they do, how we should handle their behavior challenges, etc. Teepa Snow is another one, that I haven't tapped into, but many on this site will tell you to do so. She has a series of education online. Mayo has an Alzheimers Dementia book, I purchased from their online store. "Loving Someone who has Dementia" is also a very good book, to help get educated. I just purchased, as mentioned above, the 36-hour day. I haven't navigated through that yet. It's quite thick but easy to dive into sections that you might want to read about. Alzheimers.org has a wealth of info. Many on this site on part of blogs there too. I contacted my local hospital and I personally attended their six week classes. Call the hospital, see what classes they have for memory loss, Alzheimers-Dementia. For my husband and I we haven't told many neighbors where we live. But we've been renting so we haven't been at the house. We just didn't want people to know where we lived, for a variety of reasons. I remember, when my neighbor got Alzheimer's, their friends seemed to fall away. People are frightened, I often think due to their own mortality. We did however, tell our adult children, and in reading some of the powerful posts on this site, I think telling them honestly what's happening to Dad, trying to normalize things as soon and as much as possible, getting them to understand and not be frightened, is as important as you understanding and trying to remove your fear. You need support, and they love you and Dad, and therefore, will be a great support structure to you. I started working with our attorney on updating our estate plan/will. You'll want to the same, to make sure you're covered, and all the medical power of attorney, etc., are all in place. I'm still trying to get educated on that since we're a blended family (kids from other marriages) and had to put that on hold until first part of the year. Noone knows except God what our path is, so I try every morning to have courage to face the day, clarity to know what to do, and I ask God every day, to help lead my way. I pray alot because I was so fearful for months on end. Don't be frightened, stay close to the doctor, if you need a second opinion, get one. Just rally around your kids and normalize what you can so you have a support structure which helps in not feeling so alone. I hope this helps. Many on this site, have surely helped me. Thank you.
Best, Karla