Alzheimer’s can affect anyone
In June of 2020, my brilliant and very active husband and partner of 24 years, Ken Stenmark, was diagnosed with Stage 5 Alzheimer’s disease at the young age of 68. Immediately the world as I knew it was forever changed.
I’d never known anyone up close and personal with this cruel disease. Now the person I love most in the entire world has it. I felt it was crucial for me to learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could, to help my husband and myself. I joined a support group through Jewish Family Services, and they literally saved my life.
On September 20, 2021, Ken had to be placed in a memory care facility, as his disease rapidly progressed. Sadly, I was forced to accept that he no longer lived in my reality, as my heart completely shattered. Ken’s Alzheimer’s has now progressed to stage 7, just a short nine months later.
He has forgotten his son as a grown man, but remembers him as a little boy. He usually recognizes me as his wife, but now he does have moments when he looks at me and asks where his wife went. My heart breaks as I wonder where our perfect life went. It’s so hard to believe this is where we are now.
The Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Wasatch Back/Park City Walk is August 13, 2022 at Basin Rec. Please join us by walking or as a sponsor. Or simply make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association to help find a cure for this insidious disease, and remember to always hold your loved ones close. It can affect anyone!
Thank you,
Carly Stenmark
Redstone
A clever writer
While I frequently find myself unable to fully support Amy Roberts’ opinions this letter is not about that but rather about her unique ability to write an opinion piece without actually being fully accountable for the opinions expressed. Her July 6th “Red Card Roberts” column is a case in point. In comparing the United States to Afghanistan (you can go online to understand why) she emphatically states that “In both countries, women and minorities don’t enjoy equal rights…”. She cleverly doesn’t say to whom she is comparing these “rights” but it is obvious it is to men, but this leaves her with a small window through which to escape. She also doesn’t provide any examples to support her statement. Does she really believe women in the United States are treated the same as those oppressed by the Taliban? Which “rights” do men in the United States have that women do not have?
At a later point she pivots to make what must be a firm belief of hers that the United States is by a large margin not the best place to be a citizen of, but she never supports that belief by telling us what her preferred alternatives would be-more escaping accountability! She even stretches her credibility further by using quotes from a defunct HBO drama to make her case-more dodging of accountability.
Ms. Roberts’ column may an opinion piece and not hard news reporting but that doesn’t absolve her of factually and personally supporting her positions.
Stephen Cassiani
Kamas
Pure horse country
As we look at Kimball Junction today with its tech center and many shops it is difficult to remember back to a time in the 1990’s when there was just a fuel station, and even more difficult to remember when it was pure horse country not too long ago. The pony express memorial in Kimball Junction is a cherished reminder of this. We must save land for history, heritage, and open space. We need county and public support to do so. While housing is very important in Summit County we need to balance that with saving land for horses and western ways of life to remind us that is why we came to Snyderville Basin in the first place. Recently Summit County acquired land in Silver Creek for the connector from Bitner Road to Silver Creek Road. What if the county could use the land it does not need for the connector to create a living memorial to the history of horses including pony express, wild mustangs, and ranching? We could create a “public” equine center that memorializes this heritage for the community at large. The center could have public access to multi-use trails, an equine event center, and of course a variety of horsemanship (Therapeutic, Natural Horsemanship, English, and Western Riding) programs that serve the community. This type of center could preserve the equine history of the region, keep horses here, and provide the community with access to equestrian activities.
Brandy Skylling
Silver Creek