My parents moved in with us to care for my husband when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 46.

"My husband, Francisco - known as Pako - has always been professional, kind, and considerate to everyone. However, in the fall of 2020, I began to notice changes in his behavior, including skipping meals, struggling to find the right words in conversation, and difficulties managing his finances. I called him the human calculator because he had been in charge of our income and outgoings from before we got married in 2010, but all of a sudden, he would buy strange things."

"Amazon trucks drove up to our house 3 or 4 times a day We're not into hockey, but he'd go on the internet and buy tons of hockey merchandise that we'd never wear. "It's on sale," he told me. Amazon trucks drove up to our house three or four times a day. He also ordered expensive artwork online. It was costing a fortune, and we were running out of walls to hang it on."

"Pako worked as a lawyer for the federal government, but despite being one of the strongest candidates on paper for promotion, he'd fall short during the interview. Initially, I attributed it to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought it was depression, and I got him the best psychiatrist and a therapist. Even though the psychiatrist changed his medication around 15 times, nothing worked, and he was getting worse."

Francisco 'Pako' began showing cognitive and behavioral changes in fall 2020, including skipping meals, word-finding difficulties, and poor money management. He started buying excessive, inappropriate items online—multiple daily Amazon deliveries, hockey merchandise, and expensive artwork. Work performance declined despite strong qualifications, and he struggled in interviews. Initial assumptions included pandemic stress and depression; psychiatric treatment and about 15 medication changes produced no improvement. The diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's came at age 46. Burgos's parents moved into the home to help care for him, allowing her to remain employed while maximizing time with her husband.

Read at Business Insider