I encourage everyone to read today's very important blog on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com- about National Alzheimer's Awareness Month and post your comments and suggestions here.
I'm going to an Alzheimer's luncheon next week where Frank Broyles is the guest speaker for Alzheimer's Awareness Month. We have a brand new Alzheimer's complex being built with the latest innovations to help AD patients and their caregivers here! It will be too late for us to use it, but I'm grateful that it will be here for others. I find myself speaking out publicly more and more, and wonder what God has in store for me in the future.
Joan----I am wanting to add a new POST on the blog I keep to let our friends know how Carol is doing. I would like to post something about the Alzheimer's Awareness Month. I especially like to post something with meaning to those people that really do not understand the severity and terminal nature of AD. I am not in a good writing mood, so I am looking for something to copy. The Blog you link looks like it might be a good one to copy and they urge us to copy their blogs.
Any idea from you or any others who visit this thread.. You might want to relook at Carols Blog Last Post was about How friends could help us and it has really been good. We have received a number of meals and visits from friends. Even men have taken me out to lunch when I have someone to care for my DW.
I am guessing you you don't know how to copy code? If you do, e-mail me, and I'll continue from there. I don't know how your blog works, but I see from reading it that you can put up links, so I would definitely put a link to the "Alzheimer's Awareness- Why Bother" just as I did. You can also go to google and sign up to get daily updates on all news about Alzheimer's Awareness Month, and you can post links to whichever ones you think are worthwhile. Feel free to put a link up to my home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and direct people to the "Newly Diagnosed/New to this website" section on the left. There are 4 excellent, simple to understand videos about AD in that section.
Joan, Rest assured that I DO NOT want to put more work on your plate, but for this you need to do it and get the credit.
I have looked at your Zazzle items and one seems to painfully missing. (that I would buy)
Could you arrange to have a button (maybe a shirt?) that simply says "I am an Alzheimer's Spouse" (and it should include your ww.alzheimerspouse.com domain)
I dont think there would be a more powerful message as I go through my day and I think it would create the requested awareness of a underappriecaed aspect of AD as noted in today's blog.
Since Mr.Fortier has given permission for his article to be used - ("In the spirit of National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, please share this article with your friends to promote more widespread awareness. Post it to your Facebook page, mark it in Delicious, Tweet it, Digg it, or email it. It doesn’t matter how you do your part, it only matters that you get it done"), yes you can copy all or some of it to your blog. You just need to mention him as the writer. Same thing with anything you want to quote from my website - as long as you credit my website, by providing the www.thealzheimerspouse.com link, you can use the content.
There are two keychains, a canvas bag, and a mug that have the Alzheimer Spouse logo on them, but I will be glad to do a button and t-shirt that say "I am an Alzheimer Spouse". If you want specific colors or the Alzheimer ribbon or whatever on them, e-mail me. I can have it done by the weekend.
Please be sure to check on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - very near the top, there is a new section that will be up all month for National Alzheimer's Awareness Month. There will be daily updated articles and videos.
As some of you may know, my DH died from AD 6 yrs ago. While I have moved on with my life (we don't have a choice, Nature pushes us), my DH's AD will be w/me forever, but not in any morbid way. I learned so much about caregiving and the nature of AD that it changed me in certain positive ways. I do not want those lessons to be lost, sharing them gives a measure of honor to my DH and his/our suffering. So for a few years now I write a monthly AD column for a senior magazine. I try to write like I am teaching myself, talking to myself, explaining things that cannot be explained nor understood, one just has to take some things on faith--just as we all have to learn. The editor has told me that readers often collect every column of a subject they are interested in and it doesn't matter if the reader is directly involved or not. So I know what I write is read & shared. I don't discuss the scientific/medical side, I have no educational background on that, but everything else from it's being terminal, the physical decline, sex, bathing, placement, caring for yourself, feeding tubes, driving, legalities, etc, I try to cover. Sometimes I get an idea from this website & I might revisit and update an old column. In the early years, as I came to realize what AD really was, I wanted to spread the 'truth' about it, so this is not a new thought for me and the many others who also write, speak, etc. about AD. But I have to tell you, it is not easy to break thru the denial & misunderstanding about AD in the general public. But it's worth the effort.
Bettyhere, we have been so grateful for your input and sharing with us, even though your husband passes away many years ago. You, Folly, Sandi and others have helped all of us. I know those who have lost their spouses (spice) in the last two years are also glad you shared and now they are sharing with us as well. We've all become friends here, and we're all spreading the word as we can in our communities and with our neighbors. Thank you all!
The snowbirds are returning to Florida. My husband was very active in our community. As each bird fearfully asks how my husband is I take it as an opportunity to gently educate. No long saga-just a brief update and a thankyou for asking.
I do something constantly to remind others of the dementia illnesses that we are all battling. I type EVERY Email that I sent in Bold Purple Letters. It's a simple, free way to remind all of this devastating group of illnesses.