When I was a kid, we used to spend about every other weekend at my grandfather’s place in Cookstown, Ont., where my father grew up after being in Wales for 15 years.

I usually barfed on the way there, and the way back.

I was about 12-years-old, my sister was 10, and the grandparents decided to take us to Seaworld or whatever it was called in Niagara Falls.

That was when I first detected the Alheimers.

I didn’t know what it was then, just knew he was confused because instead of taking the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) exit in Toronto, he  took the Queensway Blvd. exit to some suburban area.

I said this is wrong, but he was set.

Eventually he found his way back to the proper highway and we went off to Niagara.

Seven years later, I was visiting him in a care facility and he had no idea who he was.

My grandma did the same thing, and eventually ended her life voluntarily.

I carried her into the emergency ward.

Mental health issues are common to many of us.

I only hope that sharing will provide optimism to others.