I received an email today, from the Alzheimer's Association. They are seeking at least 50,000 signatures by January, on a proclamation to ask our new president to make AD a high priority of his new administration. They will then deliver it to President Obama.
The Proclamation url is: http://alz.kintera.org/proclamation
Excellent. And please, everyone, don't forget to write those letters I spoke about in the National Alzheimer's Awareness thread on this board. If your senator/congressman/woman is going to remain in office, you can e-mail them now. If you are getting new representatives, you can wait until after they are sworn in, and e-mail them.
Done...and I am e-mailing this address to everyone in my address book...especially all of those people who have told me "anything you need...anything I can do to help".
I will take care of this asap. This also seems like the best place to post this tid bit. This Saturday (11/08/08) will mark 4 years since I've had an adult conversation with my wife. I remember it clear as a bell because it was on a Saturday as we were driving to a football game the first weekend after the last Presidential election. My wife is very well read and has always been very interested in politics. She surprised me when she started asking questions about how I voted and we probably talked for almost and hour. Given how poorly she had been functioning and how we simply could not get along, this really caught me by surprise so I kept it going as long as I could. (needless to say, I didn't vote the right way). Can any of you remember your last meaningful conversation with your LO? Thenneck
I was at Mayo/Rochester this week for an eye meeting (for optometrists). One of the speakers was a well-known behavioral neurologist speaking about AD/dementia. This is set to become one of the great health issues (in terms of expense) of the next 30-40 years. The "memory units" will be overflowing.
Unfortunately, he had nothing new to offer in terms of a promising treatment on the near horizon.
I also took care of signing the proclamation to the president. Hope everyone else will.
Thenneck, your post made me appreciate what DH and I still have. We still have meaningful conversations and share everything even though I have to remind him of things he can't remember. I can only imagine the heartbreak of having someone but not really having them either. Do you still care for your wife at home?
Dazed - Yes, I still take care of my wife at home, with the help of my oldest son. Its a tag team effort. I work Monday thru Friday and my son works evenings Thurs thru Sunday so he watches DW Monday thru Thurs days for me. I've hired a "companion" for her on Thurs & Fri afternoons, then I drive the boat on weekends. Its been MANY years since I've had a reason to look forward to going home. It is what it is and she isn't in any pain.....just terribly disconnected. Thenneck
Today i received an email from my sis in wichita ks. the dear abby column had a letter from a lady in ohio that was asking for help she was at her wits end caring for her AD mother and a career and 3 children..my sis was one who joined the proclamation letter i sent her and she forwarded the DA article and asked that i sendthe proclamation letter to DearAbby.com and ask her to publish it in her column for readers to see and sign up at alz.org. maybe if everyone here contacts Dear Abby as well, she will put something in her columns across the country and help get the word out to Pres Obama. i already sent my request to her website with ref to the 11/10/08 column in wichita ks about AD. if you care to email her too to reinforce the request, email DEARABBY.COM in los angeles.. thanks, maybe something will happen! divvi
In my local newspaper today, they said "When President Obama takes office, he will likely reverse Bush's ban on stem cell research, to help find cures for Alzheimer's and other diseases."