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In October of 2023, Matt Allen, one of my oldest and closest friends was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 55. He was given eight years, but life expectancy can range from three to 20 years with Alzheimer’s.
When a doctor puts a timeframe on someone’s life, it tends to bring things into focus, which is how Old Man Lunch was born. Your hosts, Mark Vallet (me), Matt Allen, and Brad Nilles, decided they needed to spend more time together, have some fun, and make some memories while Matt’s disease progresses.
Our goal is to provide a deep look into how Alzheimer’s impacts Matt's life as well as his family, friends, wife, and children. We want to talk about the daily challenges, frustrations, and believe it or not, freedoms (Matt’s words), that Alzheimer’s has brought into his life
However, this is not just a podcast about Alzheimer’s, we will be covering several topics as well as simply talking about our lives, and what is going on in the world. Some episodes will be dedicated to just Matt’s disease and its impact, and I hope to have medical experts, friends, family, and other Alzheimer’s patients as guests.
This podcast will be rated explicit due to swearing, and possible sexual content as well as dealing with sensitive subjects such as religion, atheism,death and fatal diseases. It will be both emotional and funny if everything goes to plan.
Matt Allen is an Intensive Psychotherapist at Windhorse Community Services in Boulder, Colorado. He is also a father to two remarkable children, married to a dynamo named Laia, and a wonder dog named Lucy who snores a lot.
His favorite activities include skiing and mountaineering and when he is not working he is sitting at home trying not to forget what he did yesterday and dreaming about what he'll do tomorrow.