I'm Heather Robbins, co-founder and Executive Director of Robbins Nest Alliance, a Temecula, California nonprofit supporting caregivers, survivors and families affected by brain injury and dementia. I'm the full-time caregiver to my husband Rob, a former Army Special Forces medic whose traumatic brain injuries were later linked to his frontotemporal dementia. Long before the diagnosis, we all just thought he was being a jerk. That's how FTD hides, and it's why families lose years.

I'm Heather Robbins, co-founder and Executive Director of Robbins Nest Alliance, a Temecula, California nonprofit supporting caregivers, survivors and families affected by brain injury and dementia. I'm the full-time caregiver to my husband Rob, a former Army Special Forces medic whose traumatic brain injuries were later linked to his frontotemporal dementia. Long before the diagnosis, we all just thought he was being a jerk. That's how FTD hides, and it's why families lose years.

I wrote Pivot: A Caregiver's Path With Frontotemporal Dementia to be the guide I didn't have. I talk with anyone caring for someone changed by brain injury or dementia, whether from military service, sports, car accidents or domestic violence, about the early signs, pushing for answers, and getting through the day.