Former Mayor Faces Alzheimer's With Wife at Side

Rich Buchanan, 78, former mayor of Bloomington, Ill., deals with Alzheimer's with his wife Judy at his side, while also engaging in daily physical and mental exercises and taking medication to try to slow the disease's progression, reports Pantagraph . Buchanan also has received physical, occupational, and speech therapy and continues to see a counselor and neurologist. In addition, he keeps in contact with family and close friends. The Buchanans regularly look at a scrapbook that Judy made for Rich. The photographs, newspaper articles, and programs help recall memories and generate conversation. "Rich is in the stage now where he wants to talk about the future," Judy said. "What's it going to be like a year from now? I try to focus our conversations and attention to right now rather than the future because I don't have those answers. That helps to reduce anxiety. We try to focus on things we enjoy together rather than what we have lost."