JOAN’S BLOG – FEBRUARY  21-23, 2008 – NEWS, NEWS, AND MORE WEBSITE NEWS

There is so much going on here at The Alzheimer Spouse that I need to update you on all of it.

• The Alaska Stress Management Caregiver Cruise (Sept. 4-11, 2009) – Even if you think you know what the cruise is about, I encourage you to read this section – it clarifies the cruise information. The cruises were designed to give caregivers much needed respite from their daily caregiving duties. Relaxation, fun, entertainment, food, and sightseeing, are the mainstays of any cruise, but Patrick Toal, of  www.caregivercruises.com, goes out of his way to add stress management and educational tools to help caregivers revitalize and refresh. There are speakers, workshops (by ME), and support groups run by licensed social workers for you to attend. All optional – you may choose to sit in a lounge and listen to music instead  (with a pina colada in hand). Or graze the buffets that seem to be everywhere. The recent Caribbean cruise was the first one on which I gave a workshop and on which members of my website came along, so I was not sure what I should do, and did not plan a  “meet and greet” session, which I promise to do on the Alaska cruise. I so enjoyed meeting those of you who came on the Caribbean cruise. I do hope many more of you will join me on the Alaska cruise. Plan ahead to provide respite care at home for your spouse, so you can have a truly stress free vacation geared specifically for you – the caregiver. The less expensive cabins are going fast, so deposits need to be in ASAP. Call Patrick for information – 919-402-8900.  

• WIN A CRUISE RAFFLE– This is not a caregiver cruise. Patrick has donated a 4-5 day Caribbean cruise for two – Spring 2010. All proceeds go to the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk of the Treasure Coast. $10.00 for one raffle ticket. $25.00 for 3. E-mail me at joan@thealzheimerspouse.com if you are interested.

• The Alzheimer Spouse website goes to Washington, DC. The Alzheimer’s Public Policy Forum is March 22-25, 2009. As far as I know, Tony, Trish, and I are the only ones going from my website. Please let me know if anyone else is going. Last year, I was in a complete and total state of ignorance – I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The purpose is to lobby for Alzheimer funding and to raise awareness about the disease. It is similar to a political convention in that delegates are divided by the States in which they live. What I did not know was that people in DC do not SLEEP. We were up at 5 or 6 AM in the morning, and still going at 10 PM at night. Although exhausting, it was an educational, exhilarating experience. If you would like to attend, or find out more information about the Forum, click here. If you would like to learn how your voice can be heard without attending, click here. Read the section that says "Answering the Call to do our Part." To read about last year’s trip, click here.

• The Future of this Website – This website has grown in leaps and bounds beyond my wildest dreams since its inception in July 2007. It was born out of my sleepless nights – I was confused, hurt, and angry at what Alzheimer’s Disease was doing to my marriage and my life, and I was up nights writing about it. I turned those writings into my blogs, and things snowballed into a site that is now the #1 website on the Internet for support and information for spouses of Alzheimer patients. My mission is to continue to advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness, to educate the public about Alzheimer’s Disease and its effects on marriage, to provide support, information, news, and education to all Alzheimer spouses who need it. The downside of the growth of the website is that I can no longer keep up with the expense of running it. If you would like to help continue to keep this website free and accessible to all who need it, you may help by sending payments to www.paypal.com to joan@thealzheimerpouse.com. I thank you for your support.

• Joan is in training – AGAIN! I cannot believe that this actually happened this way, but the DC Public Policy Forum, which requires MILES of walking on Capitol Hill is the SAME WEEK as my chapter’s Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. Yes, that is correct. I return home from DC on Thursday, March 26th, and am signed up to walk in the Memory Walk on Saturday, March 28th. Soooo, you can follow my training (and dieting???? Yuck!) on the website. Amend that. I will give you updates on how far I have walked in my training, but you’re not going to hear a thing about what I am or am not eating!  The week of February 17th, I went to the gym twice for my strength training, and walked a mile on Saturday, February 21, 2009. Next week, the plan is to strength train 3 times, and walk a mile a day for 3 days. Oh, and don’t forget that walking around the lake where the Memory Walk is being held could be hazardous to my health. This is Florida. We do have alligators in our lakes. Usually they stay IN the lakes, but you never know.

• Come visit me. My support group is having an Alzheimer’s fundraiser at the B and A Flea Market on US 1 in Stuart, Florida on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 from 8 AM to 3 PM.  We have all cleaned out our garages for the event, so if you are in the area, come by and say hello to me. I will have my camera, so we can take pictures of each other.

•  CLICK HERE for a great little video taken of the Memory Walk that was held on the cruise. I was not on the Cruise Memory Walk – I was excused because it was the morning of my workshop, and I was setting up for that (best excuse I could come up with for not exercising on vacation.)

So that is the update from here. There is more to come, and I will fill you in as the information becomes available.

Feedback to joan@thealzheimerspouse.com

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