In summer 2016, Sky Yardley, 66, was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s Disease. There is no cure for this disease. He and his wife, Jane Dwinell, decided to begin writing and speaking about their shared experience of Sky’s dementia. “We started this blog as a way to erase the stigma attached to dementia and to increase understanding of the way it affects people on a day-to-day basis. People with dementia, and their loved ones, are not to be pitied or ignored, but to be treated with the full respect accorded to anyone, and with the understanding that they can meaningfully participate in life and in society despite their disability.” Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting 5 million people in the U.S., including 12,000 Vermonters. Their blog is called Alzheimer’s Canyon, Sky’s term for a place with “no trails, no landmarks, nothing.”  In this interview, Sky talks about his slowly deteriorating mental state, how the couple is dealing with it, and what gives them hope. (July 12, 2017 broadcast)

Sky Yardley and Jane Dwinell, authors, Alzheimer’s Canyon blog