About Judy: Judy Schuler is a registered nurse with more than five decades of experience across clinical care, healthcare leadership, home health, and hospice. She and her husband, Jere, have been active participants in Giving Voice Foundation programs since Jere’s diagnosis. Judy believes that faith, community, and walking alongside others can bring hope and strength through even life’s most difficult journeys.

For more than 53 years, I have had the privilege of following my passion in healthcare as a registered nurse. My career took me through pediatrics, intensive care, the operating room, labor and delivery, and eventually into leadership roles as a Chief Nursing Officer and later Chief Clinical Officer for the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in the country. I had the opportunity to oversee home health, hospice, durable medical equipment, infusion services, and transportation. I loved my work.

At the same time, my husband, Jere, had found what he often called the best job of his life, working with Franciscan priests and sisters. We were both doing work we loved, and we were happy with our life together.

Then, in 2018, everything changed. I was at work when I listened to a voicemail from Jere, who was also at work. “Judy, I don’t know where I am or how to get home.”

I’ll never forget those words. That was the beginning of our Alzheimer’s journey.

Like so many families, we wanted answers. We wanted to know what type of dementia we were dealing with and, most importantly, what could be done.

Instead, we ran into our first wall. Our physician told us there was nothing that could be done, so we didn’t need to find out what type of dementia it was.

That answer didn’t feel right to us. Thankfully, we kept looking. Finding a neurologist took time. We waited more than six months for an appointment, but when we finally received Jere’s diagnosis, we were actually relieved. We knew something was wrong, and finally we understood what we were facing. Having a diagnosis didn’t change everything, but it gave us a place to begin.

We have learned to listen differently. We have learned to love more deeply. And we’ve come to realize that every person carries a journey that deserves compassion, whether it is dementia, cancer, addiction, or another chronic illness. No two stories are exactly alike.

Our journey has also strengthened our faith. Through every uncertainty, every question, and every new season, our faith has carried us forward. It has reminded us that we are never alone.
Giving Voice Foundation has been part of that hope as well. Together, our faith and this community have helped us continue moving forward, one day at a time.

If there is one thing I hope others take from our story, it is this: Don’t stop looking for answers. Don’t stop looking for support. And don’t try to walk this journey alone. There is hope in finding people who understand. There is strength in community. And together, we can help one another keep moving forward.

Did this story remind you of one of your own?

Whether you’re living with dementia, supporting someone you love, working alongside families, or carrying a memory that matters, we’d be honored to hear it.