My involvement with Alzheimer’s disease started personal and quickly grew into the basis of my career. My great grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2004, at the time I was 14. I really didn’t understand it at the time but I felt an incredible connection with her that I couldn’t really fathom. When I was in college in 2012, I visited her and quickly realized that the connection I felt with her had nothing to do with the past but almost like I had a responsibility to document what she was going through. So I began this journey photographing her and the people living with her at her Alzheimer’s and Dementia ward at the assistant living she is still currently residing at. The more time I spend around these patients the more I feel that their story needs to be shared. Not the past that these people lived, but how they are currently living with this disease. After graduating college and winning one of the most prestigious photography awards available to students, I decided that I could possibly make an impact with these photographs. So now, I’m beginning this journey. I want to travel the world photographing these Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients to publish a book for awareness. My goal is to positively impact the Alzheimer’s and Dementia community with my photography and to raise awareness about this tragic disease.
