Our Journey — Aileen & Eric LeMoine

Updated (Sept. 22, 2022): Eric Lemoine passed away surrounded by his loving family at the age of 54 from Alzheimer's Disease.
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Aileen and Eric met as college students 33 years ago. They were married Sept. 25, 1993, at Most Holy Trinity Church in Aileen’s hometown of Mamaroneck, NY. On the altar that day they promised to be there for one another “in sickness and in health, through good times and bad,” but “neither one of us truly knew what a ride we were in for,” says Aileen.

They had three children together: Megan, Emily and Jason. Eric and Aileen were a team. Aileen says, “Every morning after the bus picked the kids up, and before we went to work, we would go for a walk together. One day a man in his 80s stopped us. He said he saw us every morning walking and talking. He wondered how long we had been married--and then said ‘how could you possibly have so much to say to each other!’”

Eric and Aileen’s morning walks were where they could talk everything through without interruptions. They could work out their responses to the challenges of life.”He was my partner and we always talked everything out,” says Aileen.

“Things started to change when Megan was in college. I can’t tell you exactly when we noticed things or when exactly it started. It became a joke that if you needed more than two things in the store you had to give Dad a list. As time went on, I was sure there was a problem with his hearing. After all, he grew up listening to heavy metal music and going to concerts. I scheduled an appointment to have his ears checked and went with him. I was shocked when he passed with flying colors,” she recalls.

“Then we went to our primary care doctor, and he passed the cognition test. She told us he was in a stressful job and prescribed an antidepressant. Later they said it was adult-onset ADHD and he was placed on a narcotic.   

“We were on vacation, driving through the town of York, Maine, to go to Nubble Lighthouse. Eric was driving and we were having a conversation. By the time we made it through the roundabout and to the lighthouse, Eric had forgotten our entire conversation. I sat in the front seat with my eyes locked on Megan’s…

“It took Eric getting fired before our doctor decided something really was wrong and sent us to a neurologist. On June 30, 2017, my 49-year-old husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I walked out of the office in tears,” Aileen says.

At the time, Eric and Aileen had two college students and a senior in high school. While Aileen says that each of the children has dealt with his illness differently, one thing they all agree on is that they are losing their Dad slowly, piece by piece. 

“Eric and I used to speak about our empty nest days. We were going to walk the beach and Marginal Way in Ogunquit, spend a couple of weeks each year in Florida, and have the children and their children come stay…” 

“What I realize now is that while Eric and I grew up together and moved through life as a team, I am losing my partner. He is going back and I need to continue moving forward. I am making decisions without talking them through with him, and am doing my best to balance it all,” Aileen says. “He is leaving me faster than I would like. None of those dreams are going to happen. I am rapidly approaching the time when he needs more than I can take care of,” she says. “None of this was our plan, but it is our journey.”