Instagram story viewer> @carlas_turn> Posts

Carlas_Turn

@carlas_turn

354

followers

43

following

Founded to honor Carla Green Ferrigno’s legacy — raising funds for Alzheimer’s research and supporting families navigating this devastating disease.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

We fund 🚀 to Mars. Meanwhile, millions of families are holding up dementia care on their own, for FREE.

$446 billion a year. That’s what unpaid dementia caregivers give this country. It’s more than 18 times NASA’s entire budget.

I know what’s behind that number because I lived it. Five years caring for my mom, Carla, while raising two little ones. The 2 a.m. wake-ups. The doctor’s appointments. The same questions, asked again and again. The guilt. The ❤️.

If you’re in it right now, I see you. What you’re doing matters, even when no one’s counting.

@carlas_turn has free step-by-step guides to make the hard days a little easier. Link in bio. 💛

Tag a caregiver who deserves to hear this today.

#dementiacaregiver #alzheimers #caregiversupport #carlasturn #teamcarla by @carlas_turn

42

0

12 days ago

7 years ago today, I had my wedding ceremony. And my mom made it one of the most beautiful days of my life.

She helped me find my dress. She gave a speech that I’ll never forget. She never once made the day about her — she just showed up for me, fully, the way she always did. She met my mother-in-law, my sisters-in-law, and my brother-in-law for the first time and lit up like a kid. She doted on my husband like he was already hers. And her own dress? She pulled it straight out of her closet — something she’d worn to an event a year before — because that’s who she was. Effortless. Present. She never demanded the spotlight — it just loved her.

She loved that dress so much, it’s the one she was buried in. Along with her favorite faux fur coat. Because even in the end, she was still herself.

The last few years were hard. Alzheimer’s took the mom who never needed rules and turned me into someone who had to make them — someone she sometimes saw as controlling instead of protecting. That’s one of the cruelest parts of this disease: the people fighting hardest to keep you safe become the people you push away. I carried that. Some days I still do.

But before all of that, she was independent. Strong. The kind of support system you don’t realize you have until you’re standing in a wedding dress she helped you pick, watching her steal nobody’s thunder and everybody’s heart.

This is why @carlas_turn exists. For the daughters learning to be the protector when you never wanted the job. For the caregivers who miss who their person used to be, even while loving who they’ve become. You’re not alone in the hard days — and you’re not wrong to hold onto the beautiful ones too.

Link in BIO for free downloads ⬆️ xShanna

#alzheimers #alzheimersawarenessmonth #caregiving #anniversary #carlasturn taken in Los Angeles, California by @carlas_turn

234

26

a month ago

Nearly 13 million people in this country are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia right now. Unpaid. Unseen. Often alone in it.

Last year alone, that care added up to more than 19 billion hours — worth over $446 billion. 😵‍💫

Family caregivers are quietly running a system worth almost half a trillion dollars a year, and most of them don’t even call themselves “caregivers.” They call themselves daughters. Sons. Spouses. People who just showed up.

By 2050, the cost of this disease is projected to hit nearly $1 trillion. The need isn’t shrinking — it’s exploding. And still, most caregivers are figuring it out with zero training, zero roadmap, and a loved one who doesn’t always recognize them anymore.

That’s exactly why @carlas_turn exists. My mom gave everything to the people she loved — and when it was my turn to care for her, I learned fast that nobody hands you a manual. So I’m building the one I wish I’d had. Free. Step by step. One hard topic at a time.

If you’re in it right now — the shower fights, the sundowning, the 2am wandering, the grief that starts before they’re even gone — you are not alone, and you are not failing. You’re one of 13 million. Let’s make this easier for each other.

💜 Link in BIO , grab the free guides, share this with someone who needs to know they’re not the only one.

#carlasturn #alzheimersawarenessmonth #caregivingsupport #careeradvice #teamcarla by @carlas_turn

32

1

a month ago

My mother was raised in a bar.

If you asked her about her childhood, that’s exactly how she’d put it.

She grew up watching what alcohol could do to people—to their judgment, their bodies, their families, their spirits. So she rarely touched it herself.

Not because she was afraid of it.

Because she respected what she had seen it do.

That choice mattered.

In 1967, my mother was set up on a blind date that ended at #billcosby house. The man she was with was a friend of Cosby’s. When Cosby offered her a drink, she said no.

When he tried to force himself on her, she was clear-headed enough to fight back and 🏃‍♀️

She survived that night.

And for years, she carried it quietly.

Eventually, she stopped carrying it alone.

She began speaking publicly and advocating for women whose stories had been dismissed, questioned, or ignored. She kept showing up. She kept using her voice. She understood that sometimes advocating for yourself is hard enough—and sometimes you have to use your voice for someone who can’t.

That was my mother. 👑

She spent much of her life standing up for people who needed someone in their corner.

Now, it’s my turn.

Alzheimer’s took so much from my mother. But it doesn’t get to take what she taught me.

I know what it means to watch someone lose their voice.

I know what it means to become an advocate when you never asked for the job.

And I know how many families are trying to navigate this disease while exhausted, overwhelmed, grieving, and fighting to be heard.

That’s why we created @carlas_turn

To turn grief into movement.

To advocate for families and caregivers who are doing the impossible.

To support Alzheimer’s research and the people living through this disease.

My mother spent her life making sure other people’s stories counted.

Now I’m going to make sure hers does, too.

This is Carla’s Turn.
And now, it’s mine. 💜

#CarlasTurn #Alzheimers #alzawarenessmonth #caretakersupport @nymag by @carlas_turn

208

15

a month ago

62% of people with mild cognitive impairment never get a formal dementia diagnosis.

It’s World Alzheimer’s Month, and that stat is exactly why we’re talking about this now.

Most families aren’t dealing with a “diagnosis” — they’re just living it. Watching mom repeat the same question. Noticing your husband can’t follow the shower routine he’s done for 70 years.

Realizing your wife gets lost driving a route she’s taken a thousand times. And quietly wondering if you’re the only one who doesn’t know what to do.

You’re not.

Almost nobody starts out knowing what to do. There’s no manual handed to you when someone you love — a parent, a spouse, anyone — starts slipping.

That’s why @carlas_turn exists — free, real guides for exactly the moments no one prepares you for. Not clinical. Not preachy. Just what actually works, from someone who’s been in it.

When you know better, you do better. Go get the guides at carlasturn.com. 💛

#WorldAlzheimersMonth #carlasturn #alzheimersawarenessmonth #teamcarla #alzheimers by @carlas_turn

39

1

a month ago

Carla was never happier than when she was supporting her kids. ❤️

This night was especially special. @louferrignojr had the premiere viewing of S.W.A.T., and there was our momma… absolutely glowing. The proudest mom in the room.

As Alzheimer’s progressed, there were moments when we felt like we were losing pieces of her. Her memories. Her words. Her ability to understand what was happening around her.

But somehow, we always knew.

She never forgot us.

We could feel her pride.
We could feel her love.
And honestly, I think a mother’s love lives somewhere deeper than memory.

That’s one of the things Alzheimer’s can’t easily explain — the person you love may forget the details, but the connection can still be felt in ways that words can’t describe.

And this is exactly why we created Carla’s Turn.

Because behind every statistic is a mom. A dad. A husband. A wife. A daughter. A son. A family trying desperately to hold onto the person they love.

Today, more than 12 million Americans provide unpaid care for someone living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. And 59% of family caregivers say the emotional stress of caregiving is high or very high. (Alzheimer’s Association⁠)

We want a different future for families like ours.

For more research.
More support.
More hope.
And, one day, a world where another family doesn’t have to watch their mom slowly disappear.

For Carla. For all of our mommas.
This is Carla’s Turn. 💜

#CarlsTurn #AlzheimersAwareness #EndAlzheimers #Caregiving #MommasLove @swathqtv @shannaferrigno @alzheimersla by @carlas_turn

241

18

2 months ago

63 million caregivers in the U.S.

Behind every number is a person who is exhausted, overwhelmed, grieving, trying to hold it all together—and often putting their own life completely on pause. 🥺

I know this because we lived it with our mom, Carla. ❤️

Caregiving can be beautiful, heartbreaking, isolating, and fucking hard. And most of us aren’t prepared for what comes with caring for someone we love through Alzheimer’s or dementia.

That’s why @carlas_turn exists.

We’ve created FREE resources and downloads to help you navigate caregiving at every stage—from the early days to the really hard ones.

You don’t have to figure it all out alone.

Go to CarlasTurn.com and download the resources. Join our community. Share them with someone who needs them. ❤️

For Carla. For caregivers. For all of us who love someone with Alzheimer’s.

#CarlasTurn #Alzheimers #CaregiverSupport #DementiaCare Caregivers by @carlas_turn

50

0

2 months ago

Carla’s hair in the ’80s. 😍

We thought this was the wildest hairdo ever—and honestly, we still do. 😂

Carla was filming a movie in Rome, and somehow this was the look. Oh, to have been sitting in that chair with her while they were creating this masterpiece.

She was always up for anything fun, creative, artistic, or just a little bit outrageous. And this hair? ART.

We wish we could step back in time for just one day and experience it all with her.

Rome. The ’80s. The hair. Carla being Carla. ❤️

What did your hair look like in the 80’s or 90’s?

#carlasturn #80shair #iconic80s #teamcarla #carlaferrigno by @carlas_turn

160

16

2 months ago

By the time you finish reading this post, a handful of families just joined a club nobody signs up for. A club we know from the inside. 😵‍💫

My mom had Alzheimer’s for more years than we even recognized. Our grandmother had it too. And when it came for our mom, we didn’t catch the signs fast enough — not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what we were looking at. Nobody handed us a manual.🫠

That’s why @carlas_turn exists. Not just to raise money for research (though we’re doing that too) — but to make sure the next family doesn’t feel as lost as we did. Real talk. No shame, no sugarcoating, no silence.

Alzheimer’s may have the moment. We have the mission. 💛

#AlzheimersAwareness #DementiaCaregiver #CarlasTurn #EveryThreeSeconds #CaregiverSupport by @carlas_turn

30

0

3 months ago

These aren’t just modeling photos.

They’re snapshots of our mom before Alzheimer’s. Before a diagnosis changed the course of our family’s life.

This is Carla in the 1960s.

When we look at these photos, we don’t see the disease. We see the woman she was—beautiful, vibrant, funny, strong, and full of dreams. The woman who loved fiercely and deserved to be remembered for so much more than Alzheimer’s.

That’s why we created Carla’s Turn.

To remind people that every person living with Alzheimer’s had a lifetime of stories before the diagnosis. A family. A career. Dreams. Love. Laughter.

Today, we’re sharing these photos to honor our mom exactly as she was—and to remind everyone to see the person, not the disease.

May we never stop telling their stories. 💜

#CarlasTurn #HonorThePerson #AlzheimersAwareness #EndAlzheimers #RememberTheirStory by @carlas_turn

95

8

3 months ago

You can’t always see the cost of caregiving.😵‍💫

59% of dementia caregivers report high to very high emotional stress, putting them at greater risk for anxiety, depression, and declining physical health.

Behind every person living with Alzheimer’s is often someone quietly carrying the weight of the disease too.

I was my mom’s main caregiver, I know this firsthand. You learn to function on little sleep, put your own needs last, and keep showing up—even when your heart is breaking. 😞

Caregivers need support too. They need someone to ask, “How are YOU doing?”

At @carlas_turn , we’re committed to raising awareness not only for Alzheimer’s, but for the millions of family caregivers whose stories often go untold.

💜 If you’re caring for someone with dementia, know this: you are seen, your work matters, and you don’t have to carry it alone. - 💟 Shanna

Share this with someone who needs the reminder.

#CarlasTurn #AlzheimersAwareness #DementiaCaregiver #CaregiverSupport #teamcarla by @carlas_turn

46

2

3 months ago

Mother-daughter relationships are rarely simple. 🫠

My grandmother, Aidra, was one of seven children raised in rural Kentucky. She grew up fast after her father became too sick to work, and survival became the priority. College wasn’t an option. Neither was an easy life.

She knew she was beautiful. She was smart. But like so many women of her generation, her opportunities were limited.

She had three children with three different men. My mom, Carla, was the middle child—a wild, fearless free spirit who didn’t always have the steady mother she needed. Aidra struggled with alcohol, and there were seasons when their relationship was marked by disappointment, distance, and hurt.

But here’s the thing about ❤️…

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be real.

When Aidra was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, my mom showed up. While raising three children and building a successful career as a talent manager, she helped care for the mother who couldn’t always care for her. She chose compassion over resentment. Grace over keeping score.

Having watched her own mother and several of her siblings battle this cruel disease, my mom understood what was ahead. She wasn’t fearless because it wasn’t scary. She was brave because she’d already walked this road beside someone she loved.

Alzheimer’s has a way of rewriting family stories. It reminds us that mothers and daughters are beautifully imperfect. We carry each other’s wounds, but we also carry each other’s strength.

At @carlas_turn, we believe every family’s story matters—not because it’s perfect, but because it’s real. If sharing these stories helps one family feel less alone or inspires one person to seek help sooner, then my mom’s legacy continues. Together, we’re turning grief into purpose, supporting caregivers, raising awareness, and funding Alzheimer’s research so fewer families have to endure this long goodbye.

xShanna

💜 Tell me in the comments: What’s one lesson your mother—or your relationship with her—has taught you?

#carlasturn #alzheimers #teamcarla #fuckalzheimers #femalelegacy by @carlas_turn

126

15

3 months ago