“Now that I’m a mother, I’m losing my own mother.  My mother has been diagnosed with MS and Parkinson’s, but what is really taking her away is dementia.  I envisioned my parents coming to visit from NY and we would all head to Disney world together.  Now when I visit NY I’m lucky if my mother recognizes me.  During my first pregnancy we talked on the phone every day.  Four years later I talk to her maybe once a week.  I grieve the loss of my mother.”