A Holiday Letter to you from CTF’s Founder and President

Clear Thoughts | December 21, 2023

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As the holidays and end of the year approach us, I believe we all get more sentimental than most other times of the year. I know that is certainly true for me, for as you may know, I lost my father on Christmas Day 2013, at the young age of 72, to FTD - an aggressive and unfortunately, increasingly popular, form of dementia. You may be familiar with FTD (Frontotemporal Dementia) as it has recently been in the news with Bruce Willis’s unfortunate diagnosis. But if you are not familiar with FTD or even dementia, suffice it to say that dementia is such an awful disease, that my father‘s passing was a welcomed Christmas gift as he would not have wanted to be in this world in the condition he was in. Dementia slowly robbed my Dad of all God-given dignities that one should never be robbed of and it also robbed all of us - our family, our friends, and me of precious time with him.

Dementia robs everyone…

…such as spouses - as my mother knows painfully well having lost her soulmate just shy of 50 years of marriage.

…such as siblings - as my father’s brother and two sisters painfully know.

Hayley Jameson heartfelt letter

…such as grandkids - as my two beautiful children, my nieces, and my nephew painfully know.

…such as sons - as my brother painfully knows for he lost not only our father, but also his best man from his wedding as our father was not only Matthew’s “best man”, but also a best friend.

Hayley Jameson

…and then there’s me - “Daddy‘s little girl”.  Simply put, my father was my hero.  He always loved Bette Midler’s song, “The Rose”…and I can honestly say that there are no better lyrics to explain how I thought and still think, of my father…he truly was “the wind beneath my wings” and he always will be.

My Dad inspired me to dream big and choose happiness…the necklace I wear every day, given to be me by my beautiful children, reads “You are only as happy as you choose to be”…words my father embedded in me. Yes – dementia robbed me of my father’s wisdom, his laughter, and his love. I miss my Dad at Christmas…but the truth is I miss him every day. It makes me so very sad to know that he missed the opportunity to watch my children grow up – to watch them graduate/start careers – to watch them perhaps get married and have children of their own one day. And I am sad for my kids as well – as they have not had their grandfather here to be part of these special events. The memories they do have of him – are tarnished by the seven-year battle my Dad had with FTD… loss of happy memories are replaced with memories of my Dad struggling to eat, of helping to change his diapers, of helping to push his wheelchair. I know many of you reading this have a similar story…which is why I am so grateful for your desire to take action with CTF through gifts of support, allowing us to continue working together to fund the fight against dementia.

We simply cannot allow this disease to continue to rob us of generations of wisdom and years of love.

Hayley Jameson

I wish you a very merry Christmas Dad. I can only hope that you are in Heaven eating too many Christmas cookies, playing with your trains, and having just “two more fingers” of whiskey to celebrate this joyous time of year! I only wish I could give you a Christmas hug in person…

In closing, I thank you all for your support of our shared vision to one day see a world free of dementia and for fighting to save so many in future generations. I wish you a very happy holiday…may you cherish the time with loved ones and take time to remember those no longer with us.

Yours in the fight,