Where Did Howdy Go?

Over five million people across the United States currently have Alzheimer's disease, and it is predicted that the number of Americans afflicted with the disease will double in the next 20 years. Because Alzheimer's impairs the victim's mental capacities, and often gradually incapacitates the victim over an extended period of time, it is one of the most tragically debilitating diseases encountered by families with elderly family members. Where Did Howdy Go? is the story of one couple's decade-long ordeal with the disease, and the unwavering care given to a man by his loving and devoted wife. First and foremost, Where Did Howdy Go? is a poignant love story about two people who fell in love during the turmoil of World War II, and went on to live an idyllic love affair for forty years before their wonderful life together was shattered by Alzheimer's disease. The story follows Ruth (known to her family and friends as Rusty) as she meets and falls in love with the "one true love of her life," Howard (Howdy) Weidman. Thereafter, the couple lived an almost storybook romance until Howdy began experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer's in 1983. Over the next ten years, Howdy's condition gradually deteriorated beginning with bizarre behaviors that "defied description." Rusty's courageous struggle to care for Howdy during the extremely stressful period of his illness, and her staunch refusal to put him into a nursing facility, combined to exact a terrible toll, both physically and emotionally, on Rusty. But despite the incredible highs and lows of their experience, Rusty's love for her "lover and best friend" remained unshakable. Where Did Howdy Go? will make you laugh and cry, but most importantly, it will make you think carefully about your care options for elderly loved ones.