Walks Through Heaven with Dad: a Young Man's Experience with Lewy Body Dementia

Daniel John Woytowich

qer 2015 · WestBow Press

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Daniel Woytowichs father was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia while he was still in college. This memoir tells the story of the diagnosis of, acceptance of, and journey through the terrible illness that is dementia. Daniel hopes that his familys experience can help others, especially young people, who are dealing with loved ones that have terminal illnesses. It is the story of how a young man watched his fathers life unravel in gradual progression, his coming to terms with the fact that his relationship with his father would be changed forever, and how he eventually came to the realization that no illness, no matter how debilitating, can ever touch what resides deep within all of us, and especially how it can never touch the everlasting bond of father and son.

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Daniel John Woytowich grew up in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania. He attended the Pennsylvania State University where he graduated with high distinction earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Sciences and a minor in Biological Sciences. His senior thesis investigated several possible neural mechanisms by which maternal malnutrition during gestation and/or malnutrition in the baby’s early life lead to improper cognitive development in the child. During his time at Penn State, he volunteered and shadowed in several hospitals, did biomechanical research, worked for two semesters as a teaching assistant, and did community service work with the pre-medicine society. Daniel is currently a medical student pursuing his MD degree at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He has also completed graduate level work studying homeland security and has an interest in global, preventative and disaster relief medicine. In addition to his service activities in Pennsylvania, Daniel has worked with Habitat for Humanity in Los Angeles for two months, volunteered with a similar organization called Rebuilding Together to rebuild the homes of veterans in Connecticut, worked as a live-in volunteer at the Mother Theresa Missionaries of Charity homeless shelter and soup kitchen in the Bronx, completed a four month medical outreach internship in Shanghai, China, and completed a one month surgical ophthalmology mission in Northern Ghana.

He currently balances medical school and helping his father with Lewy Body dementia. His father has been diagnosed now for nearly 7 years. Dealing with a father with a non-reversible dementia at such a young age and while in college and then medical school has been a unique experience for the author. He wants to share that experience in an effort to support others that are working through similar struggles with a family member that is ill. He wants them to know they are not alone, that there are other people out there that understand and support them, and that they will get through it. He believes that we learn the most by closely examining other people and how they choose to live their lives, seeing their triumphs, and also their mistakes. With this memoir he humbly and graciously invites you into his life and his experience with Lewy Body Dementia.