Facing "The Long Goodbye":
Our Journey with Alzheimer’s
I call this journey the long goodbye. Alzheimer's is a terminal disease with no cure, and I know exactly where this road leads.
What keeps me awake at night isn't the final destination. It is the overwhelming uncertainty of the path.
The Questions We Live With
Every day, Linda and I face heavy, unanswered questions:
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How quickly will my disease progress?
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What new symptoms will emerge?
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Will Linda be able to care for me alone as I decline?
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When will we need to bring in professional caregivers?
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Can I realistically stay at home until the end?
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How will I navigate the impending depression and loss?
But the question that haunts me most is the one I already know the answer to: How will we pay for it all?
The hard truth is that we do not have the resources to cover the long-term medical and care expenses ahead.
How We Got Here
I built my life as an entrepreneur and small business owner. Like many founders, I lived through good years and lean years. Even during the successful seasons, there was never enough left over to save. I always figured I would just keep working for decades to come.
But my brain had other plans.
Years ago, my short-term memory began to slip. I initially blamed it on age, stress, exhaustion, and chronic depression. It kept getting worse. Looking back, those early years of cognitive decline cost us dearly through poor business decisions that I can no longer undo.
When the official Alzheimer's diagnosis came, everything changed overnight. We closed our business, sold our home, and moved to Chapel Hill so I could access specialized medical care through Duke Health.
The Math That Doesn't Add Up
Since relocating, our living expenses have more than doubled.
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Housing: Rent alone costs us $1,600 a month.
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Transportation: Because I can no longer drive, we rely heavily on Uber, grocery delivery, and local transit.
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Healthcare: Out-of-pocket medical costs not covered by insurance continue to climb.
Our Social Security benefits and limited savings simply cannot keep up with these mounting costs, let alone the professional caregiving expenses looming in our near future.
Building a Lifeline (And How You Can Help)
We are not giving up. Linda and I are working hard to build sustainable streams of income to support my care, but we need your help to make them thrive.
Here is what we are building right now, and how you can join our circle of support:
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Shop Our Store: We recently launched an online retail business. Please note: It will take six to twelve months for the store to begin producing sustainable revenue, so your early purchases are incredibly vital.
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Subscribe to My Writing: I publish two Substack newsletters. One is a daily, subscription-based research report that offers deep value. The other is a personal blog that accepts reader donations. Subscriptions directly sustain my daily work.
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Book Me to Speak: I am sharing my journey as a paid speaker and presenter. I speak openly about living with a diagnosis, facing uncertainty, and finding resilience. I am just beginning to promote these presentations and am looking to secure my first gig.
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Connect Us: If you know an organization, company, or event that could benefit from a story of resilience and courage, please introduce us.
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Donate Directly: If you prefer, a direct financial contribution of any size makes a tangible, immediate difference in our stability.
Your Support Gives Me Purpose
Linda and I have been deeply blessed by the immense generosity of friends, family, and kind strangers. Without you, I quite literally could not afford my care at Duke.
Your support does not just pay the medical bills—it gives me a reason to keep going. It reminds me that my story matters, and that we are not fighting this battle alone.
Thank you for being here, and thank you for caring.
With gratitude,
Greg