Meg's posts with tag: alzheimers

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Photo AlbumMemories in the Making -- 2007 (13 photos)May 12, '07 10:38 AM
for everyone
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For the fourth year in a row my dad's art entry has been accepted by the Northern Colorado Memories in the Making Auction. The auction is a fund-raising event by the local chapter of the Alzheimer Association.

Elder Care facilities from all over Northern Colorado have those in their care draw or paint pictures which are then submitted. The idea is that through art, these seniors can preserve some of the memories that are slipping away from them. (Since we live in an agricultural area, there are often farm scenes as well as farm animals.)

The auction is held in June, but as a thank you to all of the artist's whose works were accepted, there is a tea in early May. Artists and their families are welcomed and all of the art pieces are on display. This year there were also mugs pair with each piece. One of the sixth grades in the area was given color photocopies of each piece. The students were allowed to pick a piece that spoke to them and then make a mug to match. This gave the kids a chance to learn more about dementia and the mugs were then given to the artists as a thank you. They were very well done and it was a touching gift. Though the artists themselves, like my dad, may have no interest in or even recognition of the gift, it's a nice momento for the families.

To see pictures that my dad has done for previous auctions, click here.

VideoPick's DiseaseApr 24, '06 1:07 AM
for everyone
My dad was diagnosed with Pick's disease in the year 2000. I put together this movie in order to help people better understand what it is my family (especially my mom) is going through.

This movie is just over 6 minutes long.

To get to the online support group that is mentioned at the end of the movie, you can just click here.


picksdisease.mov (2.3 MB)

Blog EntryI lost my dad todayNov 17, '04 7:04 PM
for everyone



Now before you start sending your condolences, I should tell you that we found him again. He was at the Salvation Army.

Let me back up. My dad has Picks disease. It's a bit like Alzheimers (they're both forms of dementia). In the beginning my dad just started to behave differently.

He was fixated on Ukraine. (His grandparents came over to the States from Ukraine.) Everything revolved around Ukraine in his mind. If he saw a homeless man, that reminded him of the homeless men in Ukraine. If he went into a post office, somehow that reminded him of Ukraine. He'd dance Ukrainian dances in the middle of large crowds. He speak Ukrainian (or, more often, a blend of Ukrainian and Russian, to people who had no clue what he was saying.

After getting him diagnosed, my parents moved to Colorado to be near my sis. Then we joined them so that we could help out as well. Physically, dad's pretty much fine. If you were to meet him, you'd think he was a healthy gent who had a few decades left in him. But once you start talking to him, it's suddenly quite clear that no one is home.

Dad has always had a good sense of direction. Even with the disease, he has been able to take my dog out for walks to the park and back without incident. Lately, the walks have been taking longer as he takes detours to search for coins in parking lots (his latest fixation). Sometimes a one hour walk stretches out to two or two and a half hours. But he has a good sense of direction. He always makes it back home.

Today I sent dad out at 9 to walk the dog. At 11 I noticed that he still wasn't back, but that wasn't incredibly worrisome. By 12 I thought that perhaps I should call his cell phone and call him home for lunch. Unfortunately, it turns out that my mom didn't get his cell phone attached to him before his ride came to get him. Dad was officially lost.

After driving around for an hour, Mom finally got a call from the Salvation Army. Apparently dad had shown up at their door saying that Mom was inside shopping and he was waiting for her. He waited a couple of hours before they finally figured out that he wasn't all there. They managed to procure a phone number from him and got ahold of my mom who then called me to the rescue.

When I picked him up, 5 hours after he had first left my house on his walk, the first thing he asked me was, "Meg, can I take your dog on a walk?" !!!




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