Meet the Families

In the summer of 2008, video journalist Dave Mayers and I revisited some of the families who had shared their stories with me. Most lent us photos, some taken recently, some from long ago. Dave edited them into this slideshow:

We also spent time with:

Marla Shachtman and her mother, Doris Levy.  Marla lives in my town of Montclair, N.J. and is the primary caregiver for Mrs. Levy, who has dementia from multiple sclerosis and lives in a facility nearby.

Ilze Earner and her mother, Milda Betins.  Ilze moved her parents from New Jersey when her father’s dementia and her mother’s physical limitations made it too difficult for them to continue living on their own.  Mrs. Betins moved into the cottage adjoining the Earners’ home in Columbia County, New York.  Mr. Betins is in a nearby nursing home, where his family can visit weekly.

My father, Murray Span, remains in his own apartment in Vineland, New Jersey.  At 86,  he uses a walker to help with his balance, and he’s lost the hearing in one ear.  We have often talked about what he wants to do and where he wants to be when he can’t care for himself any longer.  But he’s been lucky so far, and therefore so have I.