Marianne Sciucco
President
Marianne Sciucco is a registered nurse who cared for hundreds of dementia patients over a 20-year career. Her novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s Love Story, is based on a couple she met through her work and is a testament to the power of love in the face of this heart wrenching disease. Marianne’s tender work of fiction brings consolation and understanding to all who encounter Alzheimer’s. Ironically, two years after her novel’s publication, she started living her own story when her stepfather was diagnosed with mixed dementia: frontotemporal lobe, vascular, and Alzheimer’s. As his Health Care Proxy and Power of Attorney, she became his medical, legal, and financial representative. At the same time, she became the same to her mother, who was suffering from heart failure and dementia caregiver PTSD. “Suddenly, I was the one with all the answers, all the responsibility. It was overwhelming,” she says. “I immediately turned to my AlzAuthors friends to help navigate this stressful situation. The wealth of knowledge I have gained from my years as a nurse working with dementia patients and their families also kept me sane.” Marianne lost both parents in 2018.