Local news highlights
Peoria and Chapter News ______________________________________________________
Derby Run For the Roses
Thanks to all who attended the Derby Run For the Roses gala on May 3, 2008. The event was a success! Please click the link below to view photos from the event.
Derby photos
Major gift received
The Alzheimer’s Association, Central Illinois Chapter is pleased to announce we have received a sizeable gift from the Lee L. and Mary Morgan Family which will be used to increase the services and programs that we provide to our area families. With this gift we hope to increase our space and create the Lee L. Morgan Education Center where we can provide in-house education programs to professionals and family members in a larger, more comfortable private room. The gift from the family will help us to continue to provide the best speakers for our Spring Annual Education Conference and Family Caregiver Night. The goal of this wonderful gift is to reach out and inform more people about Alzheimer’s disease, letting them know there is help and information to make the lives better for all involved.
We invite all to watch us grow and caregivers to participate in the upcoming expanded programs.
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Quincy Area Office News______________________________________________________
639 York St. Rm. 200
Quincy, IL 62301
217.228.1111
7th Annual Pro-Am Golf Tournament
The 7th Annual Pro-Am Golf Tournament will tee off Thursday, July 17, with cocktails, dinner, and an auction at The Ambiance, 5225 Kochs Lane, Quincy. On Friday, July 18, regional golf professionals will be partnered with 24 teams for a competitive day at the Spring Lake Country Club, beginning at 11 a.m. Get a foursome together for a great day of fun and prizes, and give the Quincy Branch a call at 217.228.1111 for more information.
First Fridays
The Quincy Area Office will continue hosting its monthly program titled “First Fridays,” on the first Friday of every month.
The program is for caregivers and families of loved ones with the disease. First Fridays showcases a variety of subjects and experts from health-related fields connected to Alzheimer’s. The gatherings are held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Friday of each month. Lunch is free, but advance registration is required.
Some previous topics were “Depression and Alzheimer’s Disease,” “Men as Caregivers,” “Oral Health and the Patient with Dementia,” “Changes: Stressed Holidays,” and “What Every Veteran and Spouse Should Know.”
The Friday, May 2 program is “Assisted Alzheimer’s:
A Pharmacist’s View.”
Linda Lucke, RPh, will speak on medication options and interactions. A Q&A will follow.
For a complete list of First Friday and other Quincy Area programs, please see page 6.
Grant Award
The Quincy Area Branch was thankful to greet the new year as the recipient of a $5,000 grant from Dot Foods in Mt. Sterling. The funds will be used to purchase 22 Medic Alert + Safe Return bracelets for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease in West Central Illinois and 11 bracelets for their caregivers. A portion of the grant was also used to underwrite expenses for the January 2008 Big Bang fundraiser. The Quincy office appreciates the continued support of Dot Foods!
Book Review
Visit the Quincy Area Office to check out the following book and others. Library hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
The Voices of Alzheimer’s, The Healing Companion: Stories for Courage, Comfort and Strength
Edited by: The Healing Project
Review by: Quincy Area Office Manger Janet Veach.
Voices of Alzheimer’s is written by patients, their friends, families, and caregivers from all walks of life. These very personal accounts offer unparalleled insight into the ways families and professionals care for both the patient and themselves.
This is a book about many people who need to tell their stories: A couple’s 60-year love affair faces its biggest challenge when Alzheimer’s enters their lives; an estranged father and daughter rediscover a love that can’t be destroyed; and a civil rights activist retains his fighting spirit even as he slowly loses touch with his dynamic past. The book also provides articles written by medical professionals on Alzheimer treatment and research. A very easy read, which provides a sharp focus on the world of lives well lived.
Rock River Office News______________________________________________________
93 S. Hennepin Ave.
Dixon, IL 61021
815.285.1100
Awareness Dinner: Coach Broyles “Training Camp”
The Rock River branch will host an awareness dinner on May 29 at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn located at 2105 1st Avenue, Rock Falls.
The evening’s speaker, Coach Frank Broyles, will give a play-by-play description of how to deal with Alzheimer’s disease, based on his Playbook for Alzheimer’s Caregivers.
Dinner options are Apple Brandied Pork Medallions, Stuffed Chicken Breast, or Vegetable Lasagna. There will be a cash bar, live sports memorabilia and drink auction with silent auction items from local businesses. Doors open at 5 p.m. for auction viewing.
Did You Know...
The Rock River Office has created a new program with rotating topics titled “Did You Know,” with financial support from Borg-Warner. A variety of topics will be explored, such as caregiver footcare, healthy sleep and more.
Did You Know: Better Sleep Month
Rock River Office
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Thu. May 15
Jeanne Koeppen from KSB Hospital Sleep Lab will present on caregiver sleep health.
For a complete list of Did You Know topics, speakers, dates, locations and times, please see the Education Programs page.
Book Review
Visit the Rock River Library to check out the following book and others. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Daughter
Authord by: Ishbel Moore
Reviewed by: Rock River Program Specialist Linda Johnson, AAS, Clinical MA
Daughter follows 14-year-old Sylvie, who must deal with her mother’s rapidly accelerating Alzheimer disease.A charming, well-paced story, Daughter is warm, engaging, and bittersweet. Sylvie is a likable but confused character whose confusion manifests itself in her life in a very real way.
As the story begins, Sylvie is perplexed by her mother’s increasingly strange behavior. Her mother loses the ability to cope and eventually loses the ability to tell time or do simple sums. After even more time, she begins to forget Sylvie’s name and simply refers to her as “Daughter.”
A frustrated Sylvie copes by trading in her usual clothes for tighter ones, and she begins wearing more makeup and attending parties with a questionable crowd.
Her grades begin to slip, yet her mother doesn’t notice these changes due to her disease and is unable to help Sylvie escape a deadly cycle that she struggles through.
Daughter is written in the first person, and Sylvie tells her story in a simple, sequential way that makes the story easy to follow and allows readers to draw their own conclusions.
Sylvie’s story is sad, but it sheds a great deal of light on the challenges family members of dementia patients face when trying to cope with the disease.
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