The Alzheimer’s Issue: What We Need to Know Before 2026 Hits
It’s more than losing your keys or forgetting what you went to the kitchen for…
👁️ A Note From Judith
We are heading into a new era — and this one has 70M senior citizens. And if there is one topic that keeps rising in my spirit as we step into 2026, how many people are ready for their mom, dad, sibling, spouse - the loved one who will get the diagnosis?
I don’t want to make anyone worry, but I do want you to take it seriously and make a plan.
Because so many families will be touched by it — and many already are — but too many are walking blindfolded into a storm they do not understand.
Today, we take the blindfold off. It happened to me and my family and it could happen to yours.
🧠 Alzheimer’s in America: The Truth We Cannot Keep Avoiding
1. The Numbers Are Not Slowing Down
6.9 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s
By 2030, that number will cross 9 million
Women — especially Black women — are at the highest risk
Caregivers carry an emotional and financial burden that can break a family if they are not supported. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. I am a better person for it, but wow. I just kept hoping it would get better but it never did.
This is not just a medical issue.
This is a family, financial, emotional, spiritual, and logistical issue.
⚠️ The Early Warning Signs We Miss — Because We Love Them
Most families don’t notice the first signs.
Not because they’re not there — but because we want to believe they aren’t there.
Look for:
• Subtle memory lapses
Not forgetting where they put the keys — forgetting the purpose of an object.
• Emotional flattening
Not sadness — numbness. A “blankness” in the eyes.
• Shadow behaviors
Secretive “covering up,” hiding mistakes, withdrawing from conversations. Defensiveness on ten.
• The ‘No, I’m fine’ mask
If you know, you know.
These early signs often show up years before diagnosis. 2026 will be the year more families get hit with the truth.
🩺 Why Our Healthcare System Isn’t Ready — But You Can Be
Doctors are trained for treatment, not daily life reality.
Insurance is built for procedures, not caregiving crisis.
That means:
You will not get a roadmap from your doctor. You will be lucky if they return calls. This disease is chronic, and many try to turf you off on a neurologist who will prescribe pills that may or may not work. My best advice is to research as much as possible on your own and consider dietary changes. Cutting out sugar helped my mom.
You will not get adequate support from the system. They don’t want to deal with this. One doctor even told my mom after she said she couldn’t remember something - I guess you just don’t remember anything? He was mad at her. Fired his ass.
No one is coming to rescue your family.
But here’s the good news:
You can build your own rescue plan.
And you can do it before the crisis hits.
📘 Getting Ready for 2026: Your Pre-Alzheimer’s Readiness Checklist
1. Learn their baseline NOW
How do they walk?
Talk?
Handle tasks?
Baseline is everything.
If they used to be able to do their own banking or set up their own meds, and now they can’t 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
Flag on the play and step in.
2. Get all legal documents signed
Medical POA
Financial POA
HIPAA release
Advance directive
Will & Trust (even a simple one)
This isn’t morbid.
This is love.
And you don’t want to wait until after the fall in the shower or car accident - do it as soon as possible.
3. Create a “Caregiver Command Center”
You know I’m building this app for a reason.
Every family needs:
A medication list
A doctor list
Insurance details
Financial accounts
Daily routines
Red flags 🚩🚩🚩🚩
2026 is the year to get organized.
4. Clean up the house before the disease begins to progress
Fall risks become catastrophic later.
Simplify the environment early.
They may not like it, but at some point, you have to get in there. My mom threw things out regularly over the years, but moving her after 52 years in the same house was still hard. She just sat down on her bed and almost refused to leave. You can imagine I won anyway, but still.
5. Begin the metabolic fight
New studies show metabolic dysfunction is a risk factor.
This is the year to clean up diets — for them and you.
💔 The Emotional Truth No One Says Out Loud
Alzheimer’s is a slow grief. And in the late stages - it’s noticeable brain decay. And there are no classes in that growing up!
You lose a person in layers — memories, personality, identity — long before the body dies.
And caregivers lose pieces of themselves, too.
What saved me was:
Breathwork and meditation
Prayer
Journaling
Moments of humor
Radical acceptance
You are not just caring for a body.
You are closing a life with honor.
🔥 2026: Your Vision as The Next Caregiver Generation
For those who will step into caregiving in 2026:
✅You will not do it blindly.
✅You will not be unprepared.
✅You will not be alone.
⮕You will have to advocate.
⮕You will get frustrated.
⮕You will leave yourself enough room for self-care and some runway to grieve.
Stay strong!
Find your support system and let them love on you. You got this.
Love you.
judith
