Last night I got an unexpected phone call from Larry (my dad). For those of you that don’t know him, he is the sweetest, funniest, and loving man there is. He was also diagnosed with PPA 2 years ago. Primary progressive aphasia is a type of frontotemporal dementia, it’s a rare disease that affects your ability to communicate. He called me to wish me a happy Valentine’s Day; but for him, a simple call like that takes a long time, as sometimes he can’t find the words to get his point across. Throughout the entire call, I was trying to not break down in tears because of how badly my heart felt. It served as a reminder of what this disease is doing to him, and how I’m losing my father. After I hung up the phone I quickly broke down. And for a while. The reason I am telling you this is not so you can feel bad for me, or so you can sympathize with my situation. But because I know a lot of people look up to how I live such a positive life, and take things and make them as best as I can. And I want you to know that it’s okay to break down sometimes. That it’s okay to feel. It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to be angry that things aren’t fair. Even if you’re conditioned to think you have to be strong for others. You have to allow yourself to have your moments of weakness, bc in them comes the strength you find to continue living for others. Just don’t let the bad days outweigh the good, because life really is too short for that.❤️
It was so great to have you share Becky!