 Unsung heroes, caregivers selflessly devoting themselves to loved ones living with Alzheimer's. Alan Holbrook is one of many who knows all too well what it takes to care for someone 24-7. For the kids and myself it was a case of 2020 hindsight once we found out we went, oh yeah gee that explains a lot. Eight years ago Alan Holbrook's wife Bernadette was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 57. The family noticed her symptoms years earlier but in 2005 they decided to visit a neurologist. Bernadette feared the worst seeing her own mother suffer from the disease. You will never meet an Alzheimer's survivor because so far there aren't any. And until Bernadette's passing six months ago Alan took on the role as the primary caregiver. When you're caregiving it's like being in combat you don't want to think about the strategy you're only worried about the tactics who's shooting at me. Traveling cooking and shopping all became risky activities. And that's another one of the sad things about this disease because it robs you of the ability to remember what you were doing to be involved in what you were doing. The former teacher lost much of her independence needing Alan's constant watch. I say it's like being the single parent of a special needs student because that's essentially what it is. Director of the clinical corps at the Alzheimer's Disease Center Dr. Stern often consults with Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers. The caregiver and the person with the disease are going through an incredibly lonely process. But Alan says it was the little things like getting tips from others in his position that really helped. Caregiving is a very very difficult stressful thing to do because you're trying to be positive you're trying to be upbeat but you know it's not going to do anything. The end result is inevitable. To wake up each morning thinking there's nothing in the future either for me my loved one or my children and grandchildren that's not a way to live. As the disease progressed Alan had to quit his job to take care of his wife full time before eventually making the decision to put her in a nursing home. Family members who take care of loved ones like Alan are considered unpaid caregivers. In 2012 15.4 million caregivers provided more than 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at 216 billion. Since Bernadette's passing Alan has dedicated his time and efforts to volunteering as an advocate with the Alzheimer's Association to tell his story and help other families affected. Like most couples we had figured we were going to get the kids through school we were going to retire and then we were going to have time left for ourselves. To this day the opening lines of a Robert Browning poem resonate with Alan. Grow old along with me the best is yet to be and of course the irony for us was we were growing older but the best didn't happen. The association provides the tools and resources to help caregivers take care of themselves.