If you know Amy, you know that she is someone who has never met a stranger. At 68 years old, Amy is the kind of person who can meet someone for the first time and somehow make them like a lifelong friend. She is outgoing, generous, kind, positive, welcoming, and trustworthy. She is the person people turn to with their secrets, their fears, and their happiest moments. She has always made the people around her feel safe, loved, and supported. Most importantly, she is a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandma, and friend.

Amy grew up in Mountainside, New Jersey, and has called Suffield, Connecticut home for many years. She spent more than 40 years building an incredible career in the flooring industry, earning the Southern New England Floor Covering Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Even retirement couldn't quite convince her to slow down. She tried to retire several times, but her retirement date kept getting pushed because she was the company's number one salesperson and, quite simply, they couldn't imagine letting her go. That's Amy: hardworking, dedicated, and always ready to give everything she has to the people and things she cares about.

Outside of work, Amy's greatest joy has always been her family. She never missed a swim meet or a dance recital while her daughters, Sarah and Rachel, were growing up, and she has continued that same devotion as a wife to David, a mother to Sarah and Rachel, a mother-in-law to Lance and Matt, and a grandmother to her granddaughter, Emily. She loves walking and hiking, exploring National Parks, and taking her Zumba classes. She is famous in her neighborhood for always being out on a walk, and her family treasures her signature laughing fits — the kind where everyone is laughing so hard that their stomachs hurt and tears stream down their faces. These are the moments that feel most like Amy.

After finally retiring from her long career, Amy was looking forward to a new chapter. She and David were excited to travel, visit National Parks, hike, spend time with their children and granddaughter, and enjoy the freedom that retirement was supposed to bring. She was looking forward to making memories with Emily and hopefully welcoming more grandchildren into the family. Most importantly, she was looking forward to simply enjoying life with the people she loves most.

Then, unexpectedly, everything changed.

Amy's symptoms began with blurry vision, hand tremors, and subtle memory changes that her family began to notice. A brain MRI showed abnormalities, and she was admitted to the hospital for further testing, including a spinal tap. Over the following weeks, our family waited for answers. One by one, test results came back negative — negative for the things we were hoping they would be negative for, but also negative for illnesses that, while serious, could be treated or managed. We kept waiting and hoping for an answer that would give us a path forward.

Instead, we eventually heard the words every family facing CJD dreads: Amy had sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

CJD is a rare, rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. There is currently no cure. For our family, receiving this diagnosis has meant facing a future we never imagined and confronting the heartbreaking reality that we don't know how much time we have with Amy as she is today.

And yet, Amy continues to show us what it means to be strong.

Her CJD has brought memory difficulties, tremors, loss of coordination, and changes in mood, but it has not stopped her from living. She is still taking Zumba classes. She is still going on walks with her daughter and her grand-dog. She is still spending time with her family, laughing, making memories, and finding joy in the moments she has. Her disease has not progressed as significantly yet as it has for many others with CJD, and we are incredibly grateful for every day that she is able to continue doing the things she loves.

We also know how quickly CJD can progress. So right now, our family is choosing to focus on what we can do: love Amy fiercely, make the most of every moment, and fight for more time.

We were especially grateful that Amy was able to be there for her youngest daughter Rachel's wedding in August 2026 — a moment we will treasure forever. We want Amy to have many more moments like that. We want more walks. More Zumba classes. More National Parks. More family dinners. More laughter until our stomachs hurt and our eyes fill with happy tears. More memories with David, Sarah, Rachel, Lance, Emily, Matt, and the rest of the family. And, most of all, we hope Amy will be here to welcome another grandchild into the family someday.

Amy is currently participating in a clinical trial at Mass General Hospital, and we are hopeful that it may help delay the progression of this devastating disease. But we also know that finding meaningful treatments — and ultimately a cure — will require research, awareness, and continued support.

That is why we are raising money in Amy's honor.

We are raising funds for the CJD Foundation because no family should have to receive the diagnosis we received. We want to help advance research toward treatments and a cure, increase awareness of this devastating disease, and support the families who are navigating the same unimaginable journey. We cannot change Amy's diagnosis, but we can help change the future for the families who come after us.

This fundraiser is a way for us to honor Amy — the woman who has spent her entire life giving so much to everyone around her — and to fight alongside her. She has spent decades showing up for the people she loves. Now, it is our turn to show up for her.

We are dancing, walking, moving, uniting, and making a difference in honor of Amy. We hope you'll join us in the fight against CJD. Every donation, every share, and every act of support brings us one step closer to a future where no family has to hear the words "You have CJD."