Mark Bennett: Families coping with Alzheimer's saw themselves in 'This Is Us'

May 27—Since 2016, Marie Theisz was among the millions of loyal viewers of NBC's hit show "This Is Us" — television's highest-rated drama.

The series' central characters are Jack and Rebecca Pearson and their three children, Kevin, Kate and Randall. Its scenes flash backward and forward in time to various stages of their lives. One minute, the Pearson kids are 8-year-olds in their Pittsburgh home. The next minute, they're adults with their own kids and messy lives.

And, it's a renowned tearjerker.

"My kids call it 'The Crying Show,'" Theisz said.

"This Is Us" ended its six-season run Tuesday night. Like most of its fans, Theisz enjoyed the show's jumps into the past and future, its unexpected twists and complicated relationships. But the show got starkly real for her in its latter seasons. Rebecca, family matriarch played by actress Mandy Moore, gets diagnosed with a form of dementia.

Eventually, Alzheimer's disease robs her memory and ability to function independently. Miguel, Rebecca's second husband (Jack died decades before after a house fire), tries to become a senior-citizen superman by caring for her every need, declining professional caregiver help.

The adult Pearson children disagree on treatments for their mother and the extent of her illness. In a moment of clear-mindedness, Rebecca firmly expresses her wishes for the kids to go on with their lives. Their arguments later give way to teamwork in arranging for Rebecca's care and staying close to their mother until her passing.

Theisz, a social studies teacher at Terre Haute North Vigo High School, lost her own mother, Lucie Belzile, to Alzheimer's in 2019. In many ways, the show reflected Theisz's own experience. Her father Guy Belzile, a retired physical therapist, tirelessly tended to Lucie. After she entered Springhill Village, a Terre Haute nursing home, Guy spent the days visiting Lucie.

Also, Lucie — a French Canadian who moved to the U.S. in her 30s before learning to speak English — began speaking exclusively in French during her final months as the Alzheimer's progressed, complicating their communication, her daughter explained.

Such trials were illuminated by the plot of "This Is Us."

"I told my husband, 'I feel like I'm watching my life up there on the screen,'" Theisz recalled.

The show's depiction of a woman with Alzheimer's disease and the related turmoil in her family enlightened millions of viewers. Her decline from the progressive cognitive disease was difficult to watch, but vitally realistic, said Laura Forbes, communications director for the Greater Indiana Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

"I appreciate how accurately they portrayed the disease," said Forbes, also an avid watcher through all six seasons of "This Is Us."

"It's so important in raising awareness," she added. "I think people are very aware that Alzheimer's exists, but I think there are a lot of misconceptions about it."

For example, Rebecca Pearson's early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, gave viewers a clear picture of the disease's initial stages. The signs of MCI are often dismissed as memory loss through normal aging, and "This Is Us" depicted that common misinterpretation. Miguel, Rebecca's husband, saw her daily and didn't notice cumulative toll of her subtle changes. Her son, Randall, who saw her less frequently, did spot it and told Miguel. Randall and his TV siblings, Kate and Kevin, ultimately settled their disagreements about their mother's care and convinced Miguel to hire a professional caregiver.

"I feel like that is a conversation that happens a lot," Forbes said.

An estimated 10% to 15% of people with MCI eventually develop dementia, as the Rebecca character did. An early diagnosis can help improve that person's quality of life. While there's no cure yet for Alzheimer's, more than 100 treatments can be used at various stages of the disease, Forbes said.

"It's important that people get diagnosed early because that's when the treatments are most beneficial," Forbes said.

Diagnoses, treatments and the pursuit of a cure will gain more attention in coming years. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 13 million Americans will be living with the disease by 2050 as Baby Boomers continue aging. That's up from the current total of six million. The situation accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronavirus contributed to a 17% increase in deaths from Alzheimer's and dementia in 2020, the association says.

Theisz's mother died just months before the pandemic spread across the country, and nursing home residents coped with isolation because of COVID-19 precautions. "I cannot even imagine how families dealt with those challenge," Theisz said.

During her mother's stay, the Springhill Village staff "became family for us," Theisz said. Some of her former North students worked at the facility and checked on Lucie, Theisz and her dad.

"It was kind of like life full circle," Theisz said.

That care helped Theisz handle the stages of grief as her mother's health faded. "You experience many of those stages, even as your loved one is still alive," she said.

Watching that close connection evaporate was difficult for Theisz, now 50, just as it was for the adult Pearson siblings on "This Is Us."

"My mom was always such a big part of my life," Theisz said, "and I grieved that."

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.

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