I want to write about Louis for so many reasons. Part love story, part tragedy, part compassionate rant, part frustration-filled angst, part torture. Many lives were affected during the 14 months that began with me and ended with 7 caregivers and a funeral. So many unexpected twists and turns occurred along the way. But this man’s life, for whatever reason, intersected with mine for a brief moment in time and I see this as a chance to share what it’s like to be a caregiver for a person in decline, sticking it out till the end, seeing it through, keeping a promise. It’s also an opportunity to share my photographs, portraits of a person at the end of life, which is a passion of mine.

Who will read it? I don’t know. Perhaps a few friends. Maybe word will get out and people who have challenging loved ones to care for will seek comfort in knowing they aren’t alone. Maybe my photographs will strike a cord, draw some attention to the growing number of elders in this country and encourage families to take more pictures, or allow me to do it for them, forever preserving these last years for generations to come. Maybe I’ll merely be talking to the stars shimmering in the dark night sky and no one will care. But I will write anyway. And who knows, perhaps Louis will be reading from his lofty perch above. I will call it “Walking With Louis.”

To this day I wonder if I’d known then where that road would take me, would I have said yes?