Soap Vet’s On-Air Story Brings Back Devastating Memories

Veteran soap opera star Eileen Davidson recently opened up to a national magazine about how her storyline on The Young and the Restless mirrors her own relationship with her mother.

While Ashley Abbott has had to come to terms with her mother Dina’s (Marla Adams) Alzheimer’s diagnosis over the past year on Y&R, the storyline has hit home for the Daytime Emmy-winning actress.

“My mother had dementia, which is not Alzheimer’s, but Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia,” Davidson explained to Parade. That is why she has teamed up with the Alzheimer’s Association for Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month during June.

When asked what went through her mind after her mother’s diagnosis, Davidson gave a thoughtful reply that many who are or have been in her situation can relate to.

“Well, it’s a scary thing. Before she was diagnosed, I don’t know if she even was ever diagnosed, but you certainly see the signs. It’s kind of obvious when she doesn’t remember things she remembered before and doesn’t know who her children are. It’s a very painful experience for everybody.”

Davidson got the chance to play out those very emotions on Y&R, and the experience had to have been rather surreal for the actress.

“There were a couple times where there was something in the story and one of the actors was kind of doubting that this could actually happen this way, and I said, ‘Oh no, it actually happened exactly that way to me.’

The particular moment she was referring to was when her reel-life mother mixed up her own child’s name with another. Davidson’s real mother had done that with her and her niece. This has motivated the actress to become more involved with the cause.

“And just trying to kind of get the word out and hopefully we’ll have a cure, eventually,” she told Parade.

Currently, General Hospital (GH) is doing its own heartbreaking Alzheimer’s story.

With June being Alzheimer’s Awareness month, Davidson shot some short videos she shared on social media, featuring #ENDALZ T-shirts. You can see one of them in the tweet below.