World Alzheimer’s Day

Today is World Alzheimer’s Day, a day to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease. This is very close to my heart because of my personal experiences: My grandfather had what I’m sure now was Alzheimer’s, but nearly six decades ago, it was called “hardening of the arteries.” At age twelve, I watched him being forced into … Read more

World Alzheimer’s Day

September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day, a day to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and other dementias. If you know someone with Alzheimer’s–and especially if you are a caregiver–I highly recommend the book written by a sister, Nancy Nicholson. Nancy has both personal experience (as a caregiver for our father) and professional experience (as a social … Read more

National Autism Awareness Month

April is National Autism Awareness Month. Although I don’t have close personal experience with autism, I know several families with autistic children. I have great admiration for those who care for a child who, as one father I know describes, “God wired differently.” Parents and children may be subjected to rude treatment by people who don’t … Read more

World Alzheimer’s Day

Help! What Do I Do Now? cover

Today is designated as World Alzheimer’s Day, a day to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. There are many tragic diseases that destroy the body; what makes dementia so tragic is that it destroys the memory and the personality. I cared for my husband for several years until his death two years … Read more

April Is National Autism Awareness Month

April is National Autism Awareness Month. There are so many diseases and disorders that it’s impossible to highlight them all. Usually I choose to focus on diseases and issues that have directly affected people close to me, and often I like to bring attention to conditions that aren’t well-known, or if well-known, not well understood. No … Read more

World Alzheimer’s Day 2013

September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day to raise awareness of “the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.” (Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation) Finding a cure or at least a treatment … Read more

Autism Awareness Month 2013

This is the first time I’ve written about autism. It was not on my radar for a long time, but we have several families with children with autism in our church. I came to realize while I caring for my husband with Alzheimer’s that autism and Alzheimer’s have a lot in common. Individuals with both … Read more

National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month & National Caregivers Month

November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Caregivers Month. If you are a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient (or know one you’d like to help), I’d like to recommend a helpful book. The author Nancy Nicholson, in addition to being my sister, is a social work consultant with experience working with Alzheimer’s patients … Read more

National Alzheimer’s Month and National Caregivers Month

More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, and the disease impacts their loved ones in a huge way. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has recently published “2010 Report: Medicines in Development for Alzheimer’s Disease.” Among the statistics included the report are these: • Some 70 percent of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias live at … Read more