11/26/2025
🍂 This National Family Caregivers Month and Thanksgiving, we give thanks for caregivers, families, and our AFC Community 🍂
Meet Bonnie and Steve: Bonnie and Steve met as undergraduates at UCLA, living in the same coed dorm. They have been married 59 years, with a daughter and son and now five grandchildren.
In 2020, Bonnie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and Steve has been a caregiver ever since.
Every day, Steve navigates the challenges of caregiving—early mornings, routines, getting dressed, meals, walks—while balancing his own well-being. He finds satisfaction in keeping Bonnie “as safe, clean, well fed, physically healthy, and entertained” as he can, although caregiving is “exhausting” and sometimes “very frustrating.” His biggest challenges have been “the management of my anger” early on and now “dealing with the sadness I feel as I see her decline and how much I miss her.”
Support groups, exercise, regular help, and respite care have been essential. AFC has been “an invaluable partner,” in Bonnie's care. "The range of services available and the care and professionalism of the staff put the program head and shoulders above any of the other programs I evaluated. Their attention to Bonnie’s daily needs plus their close observation of changes in her physical status have been indispensable."
His advice: “You cannot take care of someone else if you do not take care of yourself,” and during difficult behaviors repeat, “It’s not them it’s the disease.” Above all, tell yourself: “I am doing the best I can.”
As we celebrate National Caregiver Month, we are grateful to Steve for sharing his story. To all the caregivers in the AFC community who are supporting someone with memory loss, we are honored to be a partner in care for your loved one.
At AFC, our dementia-specific care, compassionate staff, and support services give caregivers like Steve the relief, guidance, and hope they need to keep going. Your gift ensures families facing Alzheimer’s never have to walk the journey alone.
How to make your gift:
🔗 Click on AFSCenter.org and go to DONATE NOW to make a gift
💌 Mail or drop off a check payable to “Alzheimer’s Family Center” at 9451 Indianapolis Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92646
☎️ Call 714-593-9630
Visit AFSCenter.org to learn more
Thank you for your generosity! Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday season!
