This is a book about my best friend who came down with Alzheimer's disease at the early age of 50 y.o. In the beginning of this book, I write about how we met, what happened over the years before she came down with this dreadful disease, and how her husband took care of her for seventeen years at home. I try to show what kind of person she was and why we were best friends for so many years. She was a very intelligent woman who became a registered nurse and worked in a hospital as a nursing supervisor for most of her career. We both attended college starting in our 30's and shared the problems encountered while trying to raise a family. We supported each other. She accepted me unconditionally, warts and all, and I didn't think she had any warts. When she began to show symptoms at such an early stage in her life, no one could accept that it might be Alzheimer's disease. Her husband, Mark, had a hard time accepting it and used "denial" for a long time. This was a frustrating time in his life because some days she acted fine, and other days she did not. Finally, after several years, she was diagnosed with the disease. Mark had always allowed her free reign to pursue her education and career. Having a stable personality, one to "roll with the punches," he made up his mind to take care of her throughout the illness, knowing it would not end until her death. From things I saw and things he told me, I try to make the reader understand what it is like to care for an Alzheimer's patient. Caring for a patient who is confused and sometimes combative is not easy. The years slowly went by and Mark being an extrovert who "needed" some outside socialization hired some help. When he was young, he was good friends with another child who had come down with polio that deformed her legs. He would take her to a creek and help rehabilitate her. They rekindled their friendship and it set off a deluge of gossip. Since he was innocent of any wrongdoing, he continued their friendship. They would go out to eat. As the years passed, he began to run out of money and could not hire much help, so he worked 24/7 to give her excellent care. She was bedridden for many years before she passed away. Nobody knows the heartache of watching their loved one slowly die. He hung in there until the bitter end and never once considered putting her in a nursing home. I have written this book to showcase my best friend, but to also showcase Mark who performed like a hero from the start of the disease until she passed away peacefully at home. The last one-half of the book is dedicated to medical information in the treatment of a person who has Alzheimer's disease.