Story submitted by Elizabeth Sehon Harris
On a hotbrJuly afternoon dressed in white lace wedding gowns, two sisters stood beside theirbrfather as the cameras flashed capturing what should've been a special day – butbrthis photo shoot was unusual. There was no wedding date in sight, and as theirbrfather faced his daughters, they knew he didn't understand the significance ofbrthe moment.
Twinbrsisters, Sarah and Becca Duncan, 23, of Grapevine knew that their much olderbrfather with Alzheimer's disease, Scott Duncan, 80, may not be alive for theirbrfuture wedding, so they decided to capture the poignant moment before it wasbrlost forever.
“Thesebrare pretty much our only pictures with our dad for our wedding,” said SarahbrDuncan, honorary co-chair for the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Northeast TarrantbrCounty. “It was very emotional, especially after we put on our dresses.”
A closebrfriend to the family and professional photographer, Lindsey Rabon, said it wasbrthe most unusual request she ever received for a photo shoot, but knew it meantbreverything to the family.
“I knewbrit would be something they could have at their wedding to show that he's withbrthem, even if he's not there,” Rabon said.
AlthoughbrScott Duncan is an older dad, the family never anticipated such a devastatingbrdisease to take their father away so early.
ScottbrDuncan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2013 after his wife and childrenbrnoticed unusual behavior.
“Mombrnoticed his forgetfulness and he had difficulty paying the bills – he wasbralways the one in charge of our finances,” Sarah Duncan said. “He was actingbrchildish and started fights about simple things like where to eat.”
Afterbrhearing the shocking news, the Duncan family sought advice from the Alzheimer'sbrAssociation – North Central Texas Chapter and started attending their Fridaybrgroup, a program for those with early-stage Alzheimer's.
“Thebrassociation is the biggest help for someone newly diagnosed and it helped mybrmom so much to have a place to go to when she needed answers,” Sarah Duncanbrsaid.
Tobrregain a sense of control after their dad's diagnosis, Becca Duncan said shebrand her sister decided to start a team for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s inbrNortheast Tarrant County. This year will mark their third Walk and first yearbras Walk honorary co-chairs.
“Nowbrthat I'm an honorary co-chair for the Walk I get to do something I've alwaysbrwanted – tell people my story and help out others,” she said. “When we firstbrstarted, I saw what the Walk represented and really looked up to those whobrspoke about their experiences and now I get to do that - it means a lot to mybrfamily.”
ThebrAlzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's is the world's largest event tobrraise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research. The North Central Texas Chapter covers a 40-county service area and Fort Worth serves asbrheadquarters for the chapter, which has regional offices in Abilene, Waco andbrWichita Falls.
Thebrchapter is a nonprofit, donor-supported organization. The programs and servicesbrare made possible through contributions from individuals, corporations andbrfoundations.