By Katelyn Needham/ managing editor
Photo courtesy Lindsey Rabon
Posing for the camera while outfitted in lavish lace wedding dresses, twin sisters Becca and Sarah Duncan stand arm and arm with their father Scott Duncan.
The unusual part about this photo? Neither of the women have a wedding date in the near future.
Scott Duncan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease four years prior, and the photos are a way for the NE students to include him in their big day even if his illness makes it impossible.
“We saw stuff on Facebook of other people doing it with their sick parents,” Becca Duncan said. “So we decided to do it with dad because he most likely won’t be at our weddings. We were going to record our first dance with him and then play it at our weddings, but he wasn’t in the physical condition. So the pictures were a good option.”
Their photographer was family friend Lindsey Rabon, and the photos were taken in the front yard of their neighbor’s house so their father wouldn’t have to travel far.
“Our mom’s friend took them, and she was very excited to,” Becca Duncan said. “She donated all the pictures so we didn’t have to worry about paying. The dresses and flowers were donated too. We made a post on Facebook and had about 10 dresses to pick from. People were very willing to help.”
Scott Duncan’s disease has progressed since he was diagnosed in 2012, and he now lives at Keller Oaks, a care facility.
“We both go to school full time and work full time,” Sarah Duncan said. “We try to go see him as much as we can, and Mom goes to see him a bunch too. She’s extremely dedicated to him. She goes and cuts his hair and gives him manicures.”
With help from the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, the twins learned to adapt to their father’s illness.
“The association has been such a big help for our family,” Sarah Duncan said. “They have a bunch of different resources that you can use. They have the website and classes. They will also help you find a caregiver and pretty much anything else you can think of.”
Becca and Sarah Duncan will be the honorary co-chairs of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s this year along with having a team, Scott’s Wildcats.
The 3-mile walk will take place at 9 a.m. Oct. 8 at Church at the Cross and is free to register. Eighty-five teams have already registered for the Northeast Tarrant County walk this year.
“Their story is a way to help others,” Alzheimer’s Association public affairs coordinator Elizabeth Harris said. “People will be able to see someone else is going through it and that the disease is not a natural part of aging. It kills more people than prostate and breast cancer combined.”
Though their father’s disease has brought many complications, the twins remain positive.
“I would definitely say that we are all much closer,” Sarah Duncan said. “Since he has been in the home, we have brought the holidays to him. On Christmas, we went to see him in our pajamas brought mimosas and doughnuts and did Christmas morning there. Stuff like that is a lot of fun.”
