Deborah von Fossen

Incredibly hard to put 59 years into 2000 characters or less. I grew up in a military family. I had two older brothers that were built in babysitters. Sometimes that was fun, other times, not so much.

I graduated with special distinction from Mississippi College with a degree in Education.

I have two children and four grandchildren. I am very proud of all of them. I moved back to Mississippi to help my mother care for my father. He had Alzheimer's . Daddy died three years after we moved here. 18 months later my Mom joined him. We are still here, in Mississippi. Our plans have been to move back to Florida but so far that has not worked out. I am very glad we came here. I got to know my parents in a way I never had before, especially my Dad.

At 59 years old there are several topics I can write about with some degree of authority. Caring for a parent or loved one with Alzheimer's is just one of them. I also have learned what it means to care for a loved one with Bipolar disorder. My daughter is bipolar and rapid cycles. My husband (second time around) is also bipolar. His experience has been very different. I also have several friends that are bipolar. Some are on medication and some are not. My husband also has right templar lode epilepsy. He went through hell for years before he even knew he had this very strange disorder. He is finally on all the right meds and has the bipolar disorder and the epilepsy under control.

As I share my life with you I would welcome comments and questions from you. I look forward to the experience and maybe getting to know new friends.