Montana Woman Describes Impact of FTD and Loss during COVID-19

BDC article

Nancy Norlander had watched FTD slowly take her husband, Peter, for a long time, but his recent death still feels sudden.

Nancy, who is 56 and lives in Montana, shares her late husbandโ€™s journey with FTD in an article published in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle amid the isolating conditions of COVID-19. Peter, who was diagnosed with behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) in 2011 and had lived in a care facility for the last five years, died in his sleep in April.

An avid bird watcher, Peter is the third member of his family to be afflicted by a genetic mutation that can cause both FTD and ALS โ€“ both his late father and sister had ALS. The article describes how Peterโ€™s family, who is unable to connect with Nancy in person due to the pandemic, is grieving from afar as Nancy tries to plan for funeral during a time of increased social isolation.

โ€œEven family members, if they havenโ€™t been self-isolating, I havenโ€™t even gotten hugs from some of them,โ€ Nancy says in the article. โ€œThatโ€™s messed up.โ€

The article, which offers a detailed tribute to a family afflicted by FTD, speaks to the impact of love and loss during extraordinary circumstances. You can read it on the Bozeman Daily Chronicle website.

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