My 83-year-old mom had dementia, and I lived 1,200 miles away. My oldest son visited her regularly, and I called her every day.

"Mom, who died at the end of September, at 83, had dementia and ultimately succumbed to pneumonia and sepsis. Our family was devastated by her loss, and it drew a range of emotions for me. There was guilt that I had lived so far away, sorrow that she'd lost almost a decade of her life to such a cruel disease, and gratitude for the wonderful years we'd shared."

"They were thick as thieves. I was a single mom when he was growing up, and Mom would always help out. She was an enormous part of our lives, watching him when I went to school in the evenings or waited tables on weekends. Then, after I got married, moved to Arizona, and had two more kids, she would visit us several times a year for a month at a time. We called her Grammy Bear."

Heather Boynton lived 1,200 miles — an 18-hour drive — from her mother, who moved to an assisted living facility in Phoenix and had dementia. Her mother, a retired secretary and devoted grandmother known as "Grammy Bear," loved theater and visited family often. Heather’s older son Josh lived 45 minutes from the facility and maintained a close bond with his grandmother. The mother died at 83 from pneumonia and sepsis. The family experienced devastation, guilt over distance, sorrow for lost years to dementia, and gratitude for shared memories. Technology helped Heather stay connected and provided her peace.

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