This First Person column is the experience of Jean Collins, a caregiver to her sister Kathy Collins who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

On a scorching day in July 2018, my sister and I clung to one another in the parking lot of a clinic in Duncan, B.C. She had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. She was 56.

The day she was diagnosed brought a huge relief to Kathy. She finally knew what was happening to her. But relief was not how I felt. I was gutted.