It's spring in 19 days. It's been a strange winter overall. Record breaking snow in December, less than normal in January, and almost none in February which is usually brutal up here and this year was full of rain instead. We have more snow storms coming I'm pretty sure.
I am a cold weather person. Just love it here in western NC. Probably change my tune if I lived in Canada. Getting geared up for basketball March Madness. I also watch my poor Charlotte Hornets. Wolf, I root for your Raptors unless they play my Hornets.
Alim, I wish we had Kemba Walker and I've liked Kaminsky since his Wolverine days. Charlotte always plays us tough and as you can see from the Raptors (or anywhere else), sometimes things hum along and sometimes the wheels come off. I am also waiting for March madness which I think I'm hearing starts on the 14th.
I'll keep an eye on Charlotte's team knowing you're there. South Carolina is where one of my favourite people comes from, Stephen Colbert. He campaigned for his sister who ran for the legislature there but lost (I'm sure you know). I wonder what made North and South Carolina want to be separate states? I would have thought California would do that where SF and LA don't get along that great. The funny thing is that several million years from now, Los Angeles will be parked outside the Golden Gate bridge on it's way to Portland. Eventually Los Angeles will be sliding on by Vancouver Island on it's way to Alaska.
When I got up and got my coffee it was fierce mild out there. Now in just 30 minutes everything is white and it's snowing sideways.
Here’s an ethical question for you: I’m having surgery on Monday and have had to have a care aide in for 3-4 hours every day for the past several weeks. I pay a private agency $34.00 an hour. The care aide receives $12.00 an hour. They cook lunch, go grocery shopping for me, vacuum and dust. There is no personal, medical or nursing care involved. It’s just that I’m incapacitated with pain. They have a binder-notebook that they’ve left here, and today I looked inside it. It’s an account of the chores they’ve done, but also a running commentary on my mood, my conversations with them, comments I’ve made, and other personal observations. I could understand if they were a nurse (I’m one), a Social Worker, or other professional, but I think this goes too far. I won’t be using this agency after the surgery. I have a strong impulse to remove those pages that I think invade my privacy and ditch them. Or the whole binder. Any comments before I do?
I understand the reaction. I would react that way too.
The binder is there for you to look at. They are not a qualified anything. I would ignore it and moderate what I say somewhat in future and then get to after the surgery and see what I think then. There are probably other agencies and in screening you can ask what the purpose of that was. You could also phone the agency now and ask that question directly. I would do that next week if you decide to.
I suspect this is a liability mitigation effort on their part where one of the issues that comes up in these agencies is accusations about what was and wasn't happening. I remember talking to the lady who helped with Dianne for some months. She told me a lot of stories about the kinds of conflicts that arise.
I fail to see how the notes of a minimum wage worker would hold weight in any contention where you are a customer in a clearly defined service.
Thanks, Wolf. I appreciate your clear thinking. I've already signed up with another agency (family-owned for 75 years and recommended by nurses at Community Health Care Centre in case I need further help post-op. I've a number of misgivings re. this one (a franchise): e.g. staff late, leaving early, turning up with bad colds, not doing work instead spending time on iPhones.
I would have the same reaction as you did Mary75. I am also a nurse with experience in home care nursing. I am uncomfortable with the notes they are making. I gather they spend time on your dime writing these entries. And reading them, when a new person comes in. I would be more comfortable with a checklist of tasks they are to do, which are ticked off per shift.
Like Wolf suggested if you have the energy, I would phone the agency and speak to the charge nurse. Hopefully they have one.
Like Wolf also said what they are doing probably has to do with some kind of accreditation if they go for that. Or it could be some person's interpretation of standards required. I would think if there were issues with the client, the care aid would be expected to report that to someone who would follow up with you directly.
It is SO unfortunate there are agencies that send in staff arriving late, leaving early, bad colds, and spending time on phones. And you are not well, so vulnerable in some ways.
I really feel for you and am glad to see you have secured another agency. Sending lots of healing energy.
Katherine, you've summed it up very well, thanks. And thanks for your healing thoughts. If we've learned nothing else from our A-Z journey, it's the understanding and compassion we've gained that seems particularly unique in comparison that of the rest of the world.
I think that anyone who comes into your home Mary, should be respectful and that notebook wasn't. You don't need any added stress when you are not well so I am glad that you have now resolved it all to your satisfaction. All the best.
I wondered when his childish behavior would cause some trouble. As usual, when he got home he went to check the mail. Evidently this older guy (probably in his late 80s) was coming home and saw him, rolled his window partially down to say 'hi' to him. About 15 minutes after hb got back, this guy knocks on my door. Apparently hb went up and grabbed the window putting his weight on, maybe trying to get it down (don't know). The guy said he heard a cracking sound and now his window won't go up. I said something like 'I don't know what I can do' and he said he didn't either. Said he couldn't afford to fix it. Told him I can't either, we live on hb SS. I am sure this guy has money. He is a retired police officer and then sold insurance. I told him hb can't help him but maybe one of the guys in the park would try to get his window up. Hb got back from the dumpster and the guy went home. Saw him leave about 15 minutes later. Hopefully his window is not broken but just needs an adjustment (he has a pickup).
I have feared something stupid but innocent like this would happen, now it has. Now I guess I can't let him out walking, even to get the mail, by himself. I will need to go to supervise to make sure he controls his actions. I hope his actions doesn't end up with him giving me a bill for repairs.
Charlotte, Hoping you don't hear any more about the window. You have enough to deal with. Don't know how you manage and I admire you. Take care.
Wolf, Most people think the Carolinas were divided by King Charles way back when. No concrete proof of exactly how. I lived in Charleston from '66 thru '69 and also "78 thru '80. Loved all the historical stuff. Walker and Kaminsky are good but don't have enough good teammates to be great. NCAA does begin on the 14th. In the meantime I get to watch the ACC tournament which starts on the 8th or 9th.
Mary, as a former home care nursing supervisor and regional trainer, I have a few thoughts...mostly echoing what Katherine said. Checklists are best for aides, whose work is task-oriented and doesn't need the same kind of narrative notes that a nurse or social worker might write. The aides' flow sheets shouldn't be left in the home anyway, due to confidentiality issues. The aides should be keeping their flow sheets in a clipboard box or some kind of closed folder that can travel with them to their various assignments in their car, but that keep the notes out of sight. They then turn them in to the agency at the end of every week. That binder in your home is holding material that is part of your chart--the permanent, legal record. And in the USA, your chart belongs to you. So if you want to burn the binder and its contents, you have the legal right. (Assuming Canadian law is the same.) But the better way would be simply to call the nursing supervisor at the agency and express your concerns. Especially that your case is what we would call a homemaking case (no personal care)--your needs are fairly minimal as these things go--, there is simply no reason for your aides to be making those kinds of detailed notes. It is just outside their scope, and I'm wondering if the supervisor is even aware they are doing it. I've occasionally had aides who liked to write, and would get flow sheets back that looked like the Manhattan phone book...I just counseled them tactfully that while we always appreciated their care in observing the patient, we didn't really need all that information from them.
I also wouldn't hesitate to report immediately the arriving late/leaving early, coming to work sick, using the cell phones, etc. This is all common, unfortunately...what we like to call the "realities of home care." The way to deal with it is to report it. The supervisor or the office staff need to counsel the aide(s) immediately, and you should not have to put up with this--they may need to change the aide. In the case of an aide who is clearly ill, I would ask her to leave and then call the office and tell them why. I know patients sometimes put up with aides' problems because they don't want them to lose pay by being taken off a case, but this should be the least of your worries. There is plenty of work out there for everybody, believe me.
You will probably find even with a new agency, that they are all pulling from the same pool of aides, who tend to float around from agency to agency as the years go by. So if you find you are still facing "the realities of home care", just call the nursing supervisor immediately. I have found over the years that it is not unusual to run through three or four aides before you get one that is satisfactory, stays on the case, and does what they are supposed to, both in terms of the tasks and in terms of employability factors.
A good aide is absolutely golden, but as you have experienced, not all aides are as good or golden as we would wish.
Charlotte, the first thing that man with the broken window needs to do is get it looked at and get an estimate for repair. It's hard to know, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be worth his making an insurance claim--it's probably below the deductible. But who knows. It's an unfortunate situation. If he presents you with the estimate and tries to get you to pay for it, I would just be nice but be firm...you are very sorry, you wish you had the money, but you just don't have it, you just can't pay it, etc., etc. In the end, it's his vehicle and his responsibility, I would think. Stuff happens.
March. In Southern California. We have had more rainy days since January than Seattle! The whole world is green. Not so many wildflowers yet. Not enough sun. Yesterday DH asked me if we just came here. We've been here for 20 years now. It all looks different cause of the rain. We have 2.78 acres. Now covered with weeds. Some are now tall as I am. That's why he doesn't recognize it. He did help me clear some weeds. And then even helped clean the pool. Although he wanted to know why we were doing this for someone else??? This morning he stole the neighbor's trash can. I went out to check on a sprinkler leak and there's an extra trash can in our yard. Of course, he can't tell me where it came from. I took it down to most likely neighbor. Not his. We are in a rural area. Neighbors not very close.
Well spent all afternoon trying to repair a ridiculus main water line break slightly UNDER the driveway. Pipe strangled by tree roots. Thought I had it. Tried letting glue dry for a bit. Seemed to work for a little while. Good thing I went back out to check cause it blew out. So we are without water for the evening. My sprinkler repair guy will come in the morning.
Neighbor out back had his gate open. So I went up there to see if it was his trash can. Yes indeed. They just called the trash company to find out what happened. I knew their driveway was steep, but holy mackerel! After spending all day on my knees trying to free that sprinkler pipe I thought I was not going to make it all the way up to their house.
We have only spoken with them a few times over the years. It may seem strange but there is a ravine between our properties. We wave now and then. But they are young. Nothing in common. They were extremely nice about it. Brian drove me back and lifted the bin (not a small bin either!) Into his truck. He has the brightest, bluest eyes I have EVER seen. Bluer than Mark Harmon's eyes. Wow. Hard to concentrate when staring into eyes like that.
A horrible day for the record books. Except for two lovely conversations with neighbors on each side of our property.
bhv, returning stolen trash cans might be a way of meeting the neighbors. Not the best way maybe, but one way. Of course when I was trying to survive all this I had no thoughts about looking on any bright side.
This weekend is when clocks get adjusted. On Sunday at 2 am, it's immediately 3 am with no explanation where that hour went. Spring forward, fall back. On Sunday when we get up, the clocks need to be moved ahead one hour.
I guess it is better than having to return stolen gloves! When we first adopted our last cat (she died 3 years ago), we would find those green garden gloves in our house. She would steal them from neighbors and bring them home - usually just one. Neighbors knew where to look for them. The only time we didn't try to find the owners was when she brought a thong undy home!
"We don't know what will happen", say the pundits So we should try and focus more on the fun bits That sounds great but I'll have to assume That means you know why you came in the room They say "do not go gently into that goodnight" But I can't afford to go anywhere, so I'm alright "We don't know when things will turn around" But I'm not banking on anything that profound Yet, it all makes me hopeful that maybe one day I may find out what happened to my thong undy
Very generous. I imagine the poor readers coming up to that last word and veering left into 'unday' to try and help it work. What a word to try and rhyme, but of course rhyming that was the whole point. For anyone who's eye's burned with any visuals, we're offering free eye drops at the counter. I would never buy thongs anyways and boxer shorts are like balancing on a tight rope and so are out for the same reason. The children need a home. Other people - well, males - can dangle precariously like flying Wallendas on a string across the Grand Canyon if they like, we'll be over here in the hammock snoozing. I may have wandered off topic. What was the topic anyway? Oh right, cats. You never hear about police cats. Or seeing eye cats. Or man's best friend - cats. They don't care that much. And I love them for that. I don't want to be sitting up front in the fire engine wearing a hat and a goofy look with my tongue hanging out either. Not that there's anything wrong with that. There's nothing wrong either, with them feeling abandoned when their owner disappears and then miraculously re-appears coming out of the bathroom causing wild jubilation over and over and over and over again. Cats don't do that. They don't care whether you go into another room or even leave the house. Be back around feeding time and it's all good. They're different. That's all I'm saying. In the same way that lazing around on the beach in a hammock lets say with a beverage and a book or maybe just a big straw hat to fall asleep under is different from someone shooting 5000 volts through you. One is more relaxing than the other. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. If someone wanted to walk a tightrope across, lets say, Niagara Falls, I suppose their perspective would be that's important to do. Personally, I would drive around but that may just be me. I don't know why people climb cliffs either. Because it's there they say. Everything is 'there'. They do it for the same reason that dogs sit in fire engines with their tongues hanging out. They like doing that.
"Hey! Great to be with you guys! God, what a day! So what are we doing??" These might be some of the thoughts of canine interruptus but they are not the thoughts of feline your-interrupting-us. If I walked around the house calling out "walkies" and dangling some leashes, my cats would sleep through it or wonder why I'm walking around with leather stringy things. It's not that they don't get involved. Like today when I pulled out the fridge and finally cleaned. They came around. Not to help or to cheer lead. Just to inspect once to verify I was doing yet another completely pointless thing when I could be sleeping. I thought about that when I woke up early this morning with my light on and my book on my chest. There was a large ball of white fur beside me with four legs sticking up in the air - sleeping. Quite right I thought except for the sticking your limbs up in the air part and snapped off the light.
Hi Mary75. I was just outside putting a FrostGuard across the windshield of my SUV. Have never tried one before, so we shall see. We are expecting two feet of snow starting at midnight, with blizzard conditions possible: i.e. power outages. We're looking at around 36 hours of snowing before it tapers off. So I took Bandit for extra-long walks today, bought some non-perishable food I can eat without cooking, and bought another battery-operated lantern. Also have reading material.
Any other north easterners getting ready for the storm? How about you, Myrtle? Lindylou? I think we all need to go down to Florida for a hospitality check at Joan's house.
Hello Mary, hope that you are feeling much better now. It is quiet here and like Elizabeth I also worry about Joan. I think that Bluedaze stays in touch with her so if she is reading this she might update us.
We are all set for the "blizzard". the dog is supposed to go to the groomer tomorrow morning but I don't think that is going to happen. Maybe my snow plow guy will get some money from me yet. He hasn't needed to plow all winter.
I was in Florida all of February but with a 2 week Caribbean cruise in the middle I didn't really have time to go to the east coast or I would have contacted Joan and Bluedaze. I met up with them 2 years ago while I was down there.
Well, the weather people are predicting 1 to 2 feet of snow. My partner and I will hunker down. No plans to go anywhere, and we hope we keep our power. Also hope the young man up the street will shovel us out. The positive thing is it is supposed to be the light fluffy kind of snow and not the slushy heavy stuff. I'm with you Elizabeth. Florida sounds good right about now. Any one have a virtual villa we can hang out in while the snow flies here?
Everyone is invited to pop into the lodge (which is everywhere anyway) for a virtual pajama party. I'm thinking of putting on Grumpy Old Men to celebrate the very snowy weather and I'm pulling out my sleeping bag by the fireplace. If that doesn't work, how about all meeting for breakfast at the Riviera Villa we can invent? Fresh oranges picked from the tree that morning on a terrace overlooking the entire bay? Fresh bagettes with local jam. Eggs florentine sort of thing.
We aren't getting snow in Florida but it's raining and turning much colder... at least it is in north Florida. Wednesday, the 15th of March it's supposed to get down to 29 degrees Farenheit. I realize that is nothing compared to what some of my northern cohorts are facing. We haven't had really any cold nights and here winter is almost over and, true to form, one comes flying in at the last second. Despite that, I'm in my pajamas and would love to join in the fun at the lodge. Wolf, I am not much of a morning person so I'll take that invitation for breakfast as long as I can just sit back and sip my coffee and eat the fresh oranges, baguettes and eggs Florentine. I promise tomorrow night I'll contribute and make my breakfast casserole so I just have to pop it in the oven for an hour the next morning and then it's done. It's our Christmas casserole that has also become our "go to" breakfast favorite. It's layered with hash brown potatoes, maple sausage, cheddar cheese, and then you whisk up some eggs with a little flour, milk, salt, and pepper and pour over top of it. The maple fills the air while it bakes and gives it a wonderful flavor. Those fresh oranges will go nicely with it too. I think breakfast on the veranda at the Riviera Villa would be lovely. The view is beautiful, rich with magenta colored bougainvillea and red and yellow hibiscus. A sea of color for the eyes to feast upon. It's outside so all our friend's furry friends are also welcome. Elizabeth, you can bring Bandit.
Here I am again, this time writing on my new tablet, which I got with the phone for an extra $50. I think it's Brand X but I've never had a tablet before so I'm very pleased with it. It's certainly easier than typing on the phone. That recipe sounds yummy, Sass. Time for bed.
As I sat in the motorhome today listening to the rain I kept telling myself at least it isn't snow! Got to find a positive for so much rain we have had this years. This winter we have had almost 7 inches of precip which is more than our yearly average. So has been wet. I am still hoping all this precip will mean loads of spring flowers out in the desert.
Yes it does Sass, glad that you agreed with Lindylou. I seemed to be the only one who kept suggesting a drink, when we were at the lodge so was feeling rather like the site alcoholic! See you at the Villa soon.
We all arrived at about the same time which didn't matter because when we were there it was now, so time wasn't important, and how we got there wasn't important; in fact there was never anything important going on at the villa.
It was through some gates past a large garden teaming with things growing and shady spots to sit on those roman stone benches the Italians like so much. The villa itself looked like a bungalow from the main entrance but this was the top floor. Two more floors snaked out along the steep hill covered in gardens and terraces and a marble pool. The view out over the Golfe de Saint Tropez was stunning. Huge yachts and deep blue water surrounded by hills lined with other villas. The sun shone all day and the terraces were dotted with tables and chairs and lounges and huge colorful sun umbrellas.
Antonio, the guy who carried the luggage like toy dumbells looked like he'd been chiseled out of marble and had deep blue eyes you could get lost in - or so I understand because nice as he probably is, he's not my type. Which is ok. He's not eye candy for the ladies either. Some people just look good. Like Anna the cook who looks like the Sophia Loren type with what I believe are called ample bosoms which I would imagine get in the way all day long.
Outer form doesn't matter at the Villa anyway because all the virtual visitors can switch all their outer appearances around like turning channel changers. If you want to look and talk like Yoda, easy that is. This leads to some fairly wild charades games but it's all in good fun and everybody is in on it.
What people really come to the villa for is to relax for just a bit and to feel the sea air and to look at the spectacular views. The food is out of this world. The rooms are amazing. And everybody is welcome any time because it's always there. If you drove there you'd never find it; but if you go there it's always warmly welcoming.
Sometimes sipping a beverage, taking your shoes off, leaning back into the chaise lounge, and watching the sun set over the sea can be very relaxing.
Open your search page to images and type in 'riviera villa' and after that type in 'view over Saint Tropez'. Pick your pictures and you can right click on them and save them in your pictures (usually) directory. Build up some ideas about how things look and save an absolute fortune actually buying one.
BTW - if you don't pick how you want to look, the transport beam thingy just sends you there the way you looked on the very best day in which you looked your absolute best.
Cocktails while you soak your feet in the mineral spring foot bath and maybe some fireworks down in the bay in San Tropez for no reason. Or just a quiet evening reading in a chaise lounge watching the lights of San Tropez come on as the evening light fades and you fall asleep.
...
A couple of more notes: The bar is always open, it's self serve but everything's there. The kitchen is huge and Anna just does her thing so people are welcome to do what they like. There isn't a fireplace though. There's a pizza oven on one of the terraces but that's not the same thing.
About three months ago someone here posted a page entitled "Harriett Laid Another Egg" It got me hooked on watching a continuous camera focused on an eagle's nest somewhere in Florida. I've been checking on that egg every day since then.
The egg hatched 73 days ago and just yesterday the baby eaglet left the nest for it's first venture into the awesome world beyond.
It's been a fascinating learning experience for me and I think others here are watching it as well.
George, E9 fell out of the nest. So far he seems to be doing OK in the field across the road, but they are hoping he can fly back up into the nest.
Wolf, as I struggled to clean my car last night while standing in a hip-deep snow drift, I just magically transported to the Villa and sat in front of the pizza oven while my cheese/pepperoni slice warmed up, and I sipped on a club soda with lemon. Then, via the dark magic of Voldemort, I was transported back to my parking lot to finish the SUV de-snowing. Bandit refused to poop all day, even though I told him it was OK to "go" on the semi-sheltered back deck or the back stoop of the building. Bandit is a very hygienic dog, and will not poop anywhere near where he lives. Since I couldn't carry him through the snow without me falling, two neighbors helped me pass him across the snow like a bucket brigade so I could take him to the end of the plowed parking lot, where he finally deposited.
elizabeth, the visual of your last sentence made me laugh. Interesting way to meet your neighbors and it certainly is a litmus test as to what kind of people they are.
Bandit made me also remember a bizarre malady called "fecal hoarding." Sometimes I visualize my brain as an over-stuffed, unorganized, four drawer filing cabinet whose drawers won't even completely shut. Weird stuff falls out and comes to mind all the time. . . like fecal hoarding.
Marche, Time to clean out the drawers in that filing cabinet! Elizabeth, Bandit is so funny! These animals certainly have their own preferences. It took Lucy more than a year to sit on my lap and now I can't get her off it. I've had her for two years now this month and although I encouraged her to sleep on my bed, she always jumped off when I turned out the light. But for the last two nights, she stayed on the bed all night.
Our driveway was plowed last night but they did not shovel the front step and walk, as they usually do, so I could not open the front storm door this morning. I went out through the garage and realized that I am still snowed in, since there is more than a foot of snow piled up against the garage door, and almost as much on the driveway. I left a message for the plow guy. A young family member of our home health aide died last week of leukemia and the funeral will be this evening (postponed from yesterday), so I'm not going to make it unless the plow shows up again. The driveway is to much for me to shovel alone; it's fairly long and the snow is very heavy.
Jasmine would not poop in her own yard - waited until we were out walking. Because the winter was so much snow and ice I did not go walking due to fear of falling hurting my repaired arm. I did keep some of our grass swept off going out during the snowing so I didn't have to do it all at once. Fortunately we did not have the big snowfalls - only 3-6 inches at a time. She had to surrender and go in her own yard! (this was our second winter with her). Last winter she didn't seem to mind walking on the ice and/or snow but this winter no way - even if a little was on the grass area I kept cleaned off.
I just posted the following on my Facebook page. I don't know why I felt led to but did it anyway.
It was 9 years ago this month that Art was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease, which means we are starting our 10th year - never thought it would go this long. Have finished 9 years of slow decline. He went from being my Mr Fix-it to someone who can't remember how to do much of anything. He wants to help but the stress of trying to figure it out and/or me trying to patiently explaining it to him is often too much for either of us - we both end up in tears. Tears but usually silent so not to upset him more. Except for jobs when I need his 'muscles' I try to do RV maintenance when he is at adult day care, which is 3 days a week, so he won't feel so bad seeing me do what he use to. Those 3 days are my respite from this horrible disease. This disease is truly the LONG GOODBYE. You live life day by day, sometimes hour by hour. To think of what the future holds is too depressing and painful. Once you get all the legal and financial planning done, then it is day to day. Many spouses I know have chosen to go on trips not caring about the debt run up that will need to be paid. I choose not to - trying to pay it off would be more stressful for me than not going. His dad lived over 20 years after diagnosis with his mom dying from a massive heart attack 9 years before his dad died from all the stress this long goodbye causes. She literally killed herself caring for his dad. He made me promise when he was diagnosed I would not let this disease take both of us. I am trying but the emotional/stress toll is taking a physical toll. His younger sister lived for 9 years after diagnosis. Her progression was totally different than their dad's. That is one of many big problems in treating Alzheimer's Disease - no one is alike. Everyone is different. Point being - one never knows how long this will go. Some only a couple years, others long like his dad did. My mom also survived for way too many years with her dementia. My sister Della died almost 7 years to the date of her massive stroke. Physically she was OK from the stroke but after many TIAs and the stroke, the Vascular Dementia was immediately evident to me. I praise the Lord he took her sooner so she did not have to endure the end stages. I am fortunate in that he has not had behavior problems like many with AD or other dementias. He has continued being his normal easy going, pleasant and smiling self - at least outside the home. I have to watch him cause anyone he sees in the RV park he thinks he has seen and talked to before. He is to the point in the disease where he has trouble finding words, so often what he says is inappropriate or doesn't make sense (thankfully no profanity or sexual). Those who know him in the park let them slide by. I am thankful for those in the park who know him, what he has and help keep an eye out for him. They will also let me know difference they notice- many that I do not living in the midst of it. You know what? WE ARE NO CLOSER TO FINDING THE CAUSE, A TREATMENT OR CURE than when Dr. Alzheimer's named this disease in 1906. That desperately needs to change. Personally I believe there are more than one cause which complicates things. It is known people with Downs Syndrome, diabetes, and Parkinson are more likely to be victims. Now add football players and other contact sports athletes. There are family components even in ones like Art's where he doesn't have the Presin genes that have been identified. My family dementia runs especially in the women (grandmother, 2 aunts, mom). And many who have no family history of dementia. And worse yet, people are being diagnosed earlier than ever before. In the 50s like his sister and him, even more in their 40s or earlier. And how much is our environment contributing - the hormones, insecticides, additives, etc. that is in the food, water and air we breath? This epidemic is not limited to the United States. It is a world wide epidemic that needs a cause, treatment and cure NOW.