Everything changed when a familiar route home became unfamiliar.
For years, Mark Breslaw drove the same route home from work. Then, one afternoon in November 2023, something happened that he couldn’t explain.
Sitting at a familiar four-way stop on his drive home, Breslaw suddenly didn’t know where he was.
“It was my turn to go and I completely blanked on how I got there, where I was and where home was,” Breslaw recalled.
At first, he blamed stress from his job and didn’t think too much about it. Alzheimer’s disease was the furthest thing from the mind of the 48-year-old senior director of human resources at Electronic Arts.
Nearly three years later, Mark, his wife Shonna, and the rest of the Breslaw family stood before hundreds of people at the 2026 White Rock Walk for Alzheimer’s honourees, sharing a journey that has transformed them from a family searching for answers into advocates for others facing dementia.
Discovering something wasn’t quite right
Before the diagnosis came months of uncertainty for the Breslaw family.
Mark shared in an interview with Peace Arch News that this all began with small changes such as forgetting names, finding the right words or forgetting where he was for split seconds at a time.
In January 2024, Mark and Shonna visited their family doctor.
After hearing about his symptoms, the doctor administered cognitive tests in which Mark scored below expectations for someone his age.
Doctors then began a lengthy process of elimination, testing for conditions including ADHD, vitamin B12 deficiency, depression and anxiety. An MRI was also ordered to look for signs of stroke, brain trauma, tumours or other abnormalities.
This was a frustrating experience, Mark said, because everything was coming back negative.
Eventually, he was referred to a neurologist and even then was told Alzheimer’s disease seemed unlikely due to his age and overall health and lifestyle.
After further assessments, Mark was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in April 2024. The diagnosis provided some answers, but the Breslaws still felt questions remained.
The road to discovering Alzheimer’s
Through a workplace benefit program, Mark was able to seek a second medical opinion.
He connected with a physician in the United States who specialized in neurology and radiology. Through this experience, Mark learned about diagnostic tools specifically designed to identify Alzheimer’s disease.
Mark explained that the physician discussed advanced PET scans that can detect amyloid plaques and tau proteins, which are two biological markers associated with Alzheimer’s. He also learned about cerebrospinal fluid testing, more commonly known as a spinal tap, which can identify those same markers.
Mark underwent the spinal tap in late 2024, and after holiday delays, the results arrived in January 2025.
During this waiting period, Mark was placed on short-term disability from work while he focused on finding answers.
In mid-January 2025, Mark and Shonna were told that Mark had younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The diagnosis applies to anyone diagnosed before age 65. Mark was only 48 at the time.
A diagnosis that changed everything
For Shonna, the news felt hard to fully grasp. “There were a lot of tears, a lot of shock and a lot of disbelief because how at this age?”
Shonna described the diagnosis bringing grief, fear and uncertainty for the future.
“We’ve been through hard times and we know how to get through this together, but we had moments where we were in tears and then we’d kind of be in disbelief,” she recalls. “We laughed with each other and made jokes and then back to tears again. It was just quite the emotional rollercoaster.”
For Mark, another emotion emerged after the diagnosis: relief.
He says that after more than a year of tests, appointments and unanswered questions, he now finally knew what he was facing.
Though there was relief in finally receiving a diagnosis, Mark and Shonna still faced a difficult challenge: telling their eight-year-old son.
The challenges found in being a younger family
Mark and Shonna shared that for months they struggled with what to tell their son, Michael.
Mark explained that he has two other kids, Kenzie and Jacob, who are in their 20s, but even then, unlike many families affected by dementia, they weren’t helping older adult children understand a parent’s diagnosis.
“This was extremely difficult,” said Shonna. “We have a young son at home, and not knowing what or how to share with him what was going on, it was a lot.”
Shonna notes that with Mark’s symptoms becoming a bit more noticeable, she worked hard to shield Michael from many of the daily challenges. “For every challenge Mark was having, I was trying to overcompensate so our son wasn’t seeing what was going on.”
The Breslaw family searched for resources and found many were geared toward seniors or adult children caring for their aging parents. “There are resources that explain dementia when it’s a grandparent but when it’s your 48-year-old dad, that’s a different conversation.”
Through the Alzheimer Society of Canada and later the White Rock Walk for Alzheimer’s, the family found resources that helped them explain the diagnosis to Michael.
Shonna said she still carries a great deal of fear because she doesn’t know what the next five or 10 years will look like for Mark and their family. “It’s a lot of fear of the unknown.”
Life after diagnosis
It has now been a little over a year since Mark was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and much has happened during that time.
Shonna and Mark shared that the year has included moments of joy, periods of adjustment and emotional challenges.
Mark said that the one person who has seen it every step of the way has been his wife, and no one fully knows what he faces on a daily basis.
Tasks such as unloading the dishwasher can take hours. Sorting cutlery into the correct drawer can become confusing, and writing a thoughtful message can take days. “Simple tasks have now become so challenging,” said Shonna.
Mark can no longer drive after the doctor determined his visual-spatial executive functions had been affected. The change has reshaped family routines and created additional responsibilities for Shonna.
However, Shonna notes that Mark remains determined to help where he can. “He is extremely resilient.”
In the interview with Peace Arch News, Shonna became a little emotional as she recalled a story that stuck with her from this past winter season.
She recalled a rainy day where Mark walked to a nearby story for groceries while wearing a dark rain jacket and carrying a backpack.
Shonna said she received a text from her husband stating that for the first time since his diagnosis, he felt different.
He told Shonna he felt people in the store viewed him suspiciously because he was soaking wet, carrying a backpack and repeatedly rummaging through it while returning an item.
That memory still brings up a lot of emotion to Shonna.
“You’re up against so much as it is and then to just feel that type of shame on top of trying so hard to create some new normalcy for yourself,” she said. “I have had a very hard time talking about it.”
Purpose in advocacy
Through the Alzheimer Society of Canada, Mark said he found a network of people who understand what he is experiencing.
He said the support became invaluable, connecting his family with resources, educational programs and a community of people facing similar challenges.
For Mark, the society also provided him with a sense of purpose.
Before leaving work, Mark said one of his favourite parts of his career had been public speaking.
When his diagnosis forced Mark to step away from that role, he shared that the society offered him a way to continue doing what he loved.
“I thought that maybe there is a world here where I can’t work that job anymore, but I could take a piece of it that I loved the most and maybe I could do that,” said Mark.
Since late 2025, Mark has participated in webinars, presentations and speaking engagements through the Alzheimer Society. Audiences often include caregivers, healthcare students, people living with dementia and family members searching for answers.
“If I wasn’t involved in the society, I’d feel almost powerless and feel so frustrated,” he said.
Instead, advocacy has given him an opportunity to help others.
Looking ahead
The Breslaws said they know there are still plenty of unknowns ahead, but they hope to see greater awareness of younger-onset Alzheimer disease, earlier diagnoses and more resources tailored to younger families.
The family would also like to see more practical support systems available for people living with dementia. “What I’m finding about health care in general is that it wasn’t made for people in their 50s,” said Mark.
Mark and Shonna encourage anyone experiencing concerning symptoms to speak with their doctor, noting that an early diagnosis can make planning for the future easier.
For now, the Breslaws are continuing life and moving forward one day at a time.
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” shared Mark before explaining there are still a lot of laughs and moments of joy.
He shared that he still travels and life doesn’t end immediately after diagnosis. He says that people still need to live and can still live; they just have to be a bit more cautious as time goes on.
Though the future remains uncertain, Mark and Shonna say they no longer feel alone in facing it.
To learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, younger-onset dementia or support services available through the Alzheimer Society of B.C., visit the organization’s website at alzheimer.ca/bc/en.