Bob DeMarco lays down his life
DeMarco experienced a lot of life before he came to care for his mother, and he will likely experience more when his time as caregiver ends. Yet I think of John 15:13.
"I have a life that is rich in experience, and is now rich in spirit." This is how Bob DeMarco opened the new year on his blog. At 61, DeMarco is sole caretaker of his 96-year-old mom, Dotty.
At one time he was an institutional salesman of derivatives, futures, options and mortgages; at another time he was chief executive of a small software company. He was once married and is now divorced. But according to Jane Gross, DeMarco always knew he would drop it all to care for his mother when the time came.
That time came eight years ago. Dotty has advanced AD. (Twenty-five percent or more of the population aged 70 or older have dementia or are at risk of developing dementia in the near future. Seventy to 80 percent of all dementia cases will be attributable to AD.) As a full-time caretaker, Bob doesn't have much of a life; he seldom gets out, doesn't date and makes no plans that don't include his mother.
