VERY RELEVANT STUFF: ALZHEIMER'S

According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are currently 10 million Americans providing 8.5 billion hours of unpaid care to people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.

This Association also states:  "...not only is it very expensive to pay for care in a nursing home, but the patient is someone you  love a lot--a mother, father, spouse.  Someone who has taken care of you, and so it's only natural to want to take care of them." 

Alzheimer's can take a great toll on the physical and emotional well-being, not just of the patient, but of the caregiver as well.

"It's not uncommon for the caregiver to die before the patient...it's a 24/7 job and often the caregiver has no help...it's a long haul, you cannot live like that and survive."

Caregivers must be able to find some respite...a sense of themselves outside of the caregiver role.

The Alzheimer's Association's 24/7 Helpline provides reliable information and support to all who need assistance. Call toll-free anytime day or night at 1-800-272-3900

My Father's Eulogy......Delivered By Me 2000

When I am thinking of different words to describe my father,

I think: either he was a paradox, or a true renaissance man.

My father was a man of steel, yet I have seen him cry.

I have listened to him laugh out-loud at cartoons, or the funny papers.

He was easy going, and he had an Irish temper.

He was a private man, yet everyone knew him.

He enjoyed telling stories, gardening, fishing, cooking, reading recipe books, and eating.

He enjoyed talking with people and getting to know them. And, learning from them, too.

He seemed to know a little bit about everything.

He was fascinated about the weather, science, animals, or birds.

It did not matter. He was a sponge.

Ultimately, he could "hold his own" in those conversations.

When I began to think of the values he instilled in me, three examples come quickly to mind.