b'AD.However, due to health care disparities, manychangebecauseshehadforgottenhowtocount AfricanAmericansdonotreceivetimelydiagnosesthemoney.Conniesaidherchildrenalsonoticed and treatment. In the Alzheimers Associations 2021thechangeintheirgrandmotherwhenshebaked AlzheimersDiseaseFactsandFiguresreporttwothem one of her famous pound cakes.Mother was nationalsurveyfindingsrevealthatdiscriminationwellknownforhermouth-wateringpoundcakes. isabarriertoAlzheimersanddementiacare. TheyButthisonedidnttastegood,andthegrandsfelt reportthatnon-whiteracial/ethnicpopulationssomething was wrong, recalled Connie.Eventually, expect and experience more barriers when accessingher mother forgot how to cook at all. And, she often dementiacare,havelesstrustinmedicalresearchgot her days mixed up and would get dressed to go andarelessconfidentto church in the middle thattheyhaveaccesstoof the week, thinking it health professionals whowasSunday,Connie understandtheirethnicsighed.andracialbackground and experiences. The symptoms grew progressively worse.A PersonalThe first two years Story Connie said her mother ConnieCox,aLittlewas able to camouflage River, SC resident, is allher illness.However, as toofamiliarwithADsymptoms progressed symptoms and treatmentshe took her mother challenges.Her mother,to the doctor, and she Idell,was78yearsoldwas diagnosed with whenConniefirstdementia.Even after noticedachangeinthe dementia diagnosis herbehavior.AssheConnie said her mother looksback,Conniewas still able to function realizedthatthesignsday-to-day.But by the startedearlier,butherfourth year she rarely momwasabletocovertalked, began dressing themup.Conniesaysin layers and forgetting sheremembersaskingthe names of family.hermothersomethingOur mother-daughter roles were reversed, andIt wasnt until the last thatsheshouldknow,it was my turn to take care of her. five or six months of her andhermotherwould Connie Cox life that she was given turnitaroundandaskmedications to slow Connie the same question.Next, she recalls noticingdown the progression, achangeinhowhermotherdressed.ApridefulConnie explained.Eventually, her mother forgot how dresser,hermotheralwaysworethelatestfashions.to swallow and had to be fed soft foods.One week Whenhermotherstartedwearingclothingthatprior to succumbing to her illness she stopped eating didntmatchandnotbeingconcernedaboutheraltogether.appearance,Conniessuspicionswereheightened. My mother also stopped writing checks and wouldCaregiving Challengesalways go to the bank and get large bills. WheneverAttheonsetofhermothersillnessConniesaid shemadeapurchase,Connierecalled,shewouldshehelpedherdadtakecareofhermother. give the store clerk the bill and hope to get correctUnfortunately, he suffered a stroke and Connie had IMARA9'