Show notes
If you looked at her life from the outside, it was perfect.A brilliant Harvard-trained doctor. Four beautiful children. A marriage built on love. And then, slowly… it wasn’t.In this episode of The Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Andrea Suchin, caregiver, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Wuggle. For six years, Andrea watched subtle changes in her husband Craig, slowly unravel into something far more devastating. What began as small personality shifts spiraled into financial chaos, misdiagnosis, rage episodes, and ultimately a diagnosis of behavioral frontotemporal dementia (FTD).Craig showed symptoms for nearly six years. For the final four, Andrea became his full-time caregiver, managing medications, protecting their children, advocating when doctors dismissed her concerns, and standing by him until his final breath.This is a story about dementia, caregiver burnout, anticipatory grief, and the trauma of watching a mental death before a physical one.But it’s also about purpose.Andrea shares how survival mode led to the creation of Wuggle, a sleep solution now helping caregivers around the world.If you’re navigating caregiving, dementia, exhaustion, or profound loss, this conversation is for you.Watch, share, and join The Rollercoaster Community.Key Moments:0:00 The Night I Knew He Was Dying3:45 Caregiver Surgery… Then Crisis9:05 The Hospice Call That Never Came12:40 His Final Words to Me15:10 Holding Him After His Last Breath18:05 Relief, Guilt & Grief Collide24:15 22 Credit Cards & $170K Debt30:00 The Devastating Diagnosis: FTD36:00 Caregiver Burnout Nearly Broke Me39:10 The Sleep Breakthrough That Saved Me42:30 From Grief to Mission: Creating Wuggle45:40 The Text That Changed Everything51:00 Anxiety, Migraines & Better REM54:20 The Trauma Caregivers Don’t Admit