It wasn't a typical turkey day.

We had finished eating the Thanksgiving meal, except for Mom.She didn't take a bite. Her appetite had faded.I suppose she wasn't feeling well. But I wasn't sure. She didn't say. Actually, Mom never complained about anything, ever.And for months, her communication had become an issue. She no longer spoke full sentences.Those changes were hard to deal with, especially because it was Mom and she was so bright.Mom was a shining star in so many ways. Intelligent, optimistic.She was the youngest female graduate in the history of Tamaqua High School., earning her diploma at age 15.There was nobody I respected more.By age 84, Alzheimer's reared its head. Mom no longer knew my name.She still knew me. And I'm certain she loved me as much as ever, but couldn't say my name.Even so, I gave thanks to be near her, to still have her home.But nothing was typical. Alzheimer's does bad things to those it afflicts. Its impact is heartbreaking, almost evil."It's Thanksgiving, Mom, and I love you more than anything," I said, hugging her and not wanting to let go.She smiled, almost laughingly. I absorbed every warm second of it.That smile was the Mom I knew; it was the Mom so full of love and kindness.At that point, Mom was still able to read and I knew I had one final opportunity to let her know what she meant to me.So I wrote a column called "My Marie."The tribute was the final thing Mom was able to read and understand.Three days before Christmas she was gone.No, it wasn't a typical holiday. In fact, after that holidays weren't the same. They evaporated, replaced by grief.It's been that way ever since. When both parents pass away, and when you have no children, life changes in dramatic ways.By coincidence, November is National Alzheimer's Awareness Month. A good idea.But I don't need a calendar to remind me of it.I've seen its cruel reach and have felt its numbing sting, and so have many others.The incidence of Alzheimer's is so great it seems as if it impacts every family. We live in a world where 16 million people suffer from it.And for each Alzheimer's patient, the lives of countless others are impacted in big ways.They're family members, caregivers, health care and social workers, nurses, Meals on Wheels volunteers, support workers and more.Alzheimer's has a profound effect on each of them and on society. It's a round-the-clock disease that requires extensive 24-hour care.It can strain a family's financial resources and can challenge the capabilities of nursing homes.Nothing else compares.I've served as a caregiver three times: once for a loved one with coronary artery disease, once for a loved one with terminal cancer, and finally, the encounter with Alzheimer's. It's in a class by itself. Those other situations ended the same way, but they paled in comparison to the havoc wrought by Alzheimer's.The level of care and amount of time required to deal with an Alzheimer's patient can be demanding to the point of exhaustion.Of course, it's difficult to serve as caregiver under any circumstances for any illness. But caring for an Alzheimer's patient requires superhuman commitment. It's a job virtually impossible to do by oneself. It demands tapping into all available support services within a community, county and state.Even then, the support isn't enough. Not even close.An Alzheimer's patient needs many helping hands, more than are available at any given point in time. Alzheimer's in a family is so devastating it can kill the patient and the caregiver."It's not fun getting older," my mother would say with half a smile. She was right.When we grow older, we increasingly miss the ones who've departed. We tend to spend holiday hours in a cemetery.It seems each of us has a struggle and the holidays can be a sad time for many different reasons.If you believe in a deity, say a prayer that medical science finds a cure for Alzheimer's and all of the other maladies that contribute to human suffering.Holiday dinners aren't the same when there's an empty chair, a broken heart and a forgotten name.