Doris is no stranger to loss: the loss of her first son in infancy, her second son to incarceration, her grandmother and many aunts and uncles to Alzheimer’s disease, and now, her own memory. But having received her MCI diagnosis, “I was more relieved than scared, because I suspected it,” she says. “Matter of fact, I think it helps a lot… because I’m aware of it now. I monitor myself.”
Doris surrounds herself with a caring network of friends, who support each other through companionship and shared spirituality. A member of the Gospel Temple Baptist Church since the 1970s, she has forged close friendships with other members of the congregation, who support each other with both the mundane errands of everyday living and through significant personal losses, such as the death of a loved one. They check in on each other daily, go grocery shopping, and pray together. Delores says of a close friend, "She's been a big help to me in my life and adjusting to whatever comes along, no matter what goes on, I can call her anytime, day or night.”
An accountant for a funeral home, Doris enjoys the challenge of a good crossword puzzle and conversations with her neighbor’s inquisitive seven-year-old son. “He's good therapy for me. He drives me crazy asking all these questions, but I answer them, because he doesn't know, but it's helping me and my memory.”
Although the diagnosis of MCI has been helpful to Doris, she is aware of how such a label affects how she is perceived by others. “I don't think that the whole world need to know. If the time's come that they need to know, then I share it, but right now, it's something that I have to deal with first.”