Alzheimer’s in Alabama: Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama’s annual conference, Friday, October 18, Canterbury United Methodist Church. Our special guest will be Jamie Tyrone, who is in a rare group of only 2% of the population who carry 2 copies of the ApoE4 gene, which means she has a 91% chance of developing Alzheimer’s. Click to learn more about her new book, “Fighting For My Life” Mark your calendar and make plans to join us. Details to follow.
Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama Lunch and Learn, Tuesday, October 29. Coping with grief during the holidays. Details to follow.
Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama’s Walking to Remember, Saturday, November 2, inside the Riverchase Galleria, 8 am. Join with family and friends to Shine a Light on Alzheimer’s at this fun 3 mile indoor walk (or a distance that suits you). Walk in honor of memory of your loved one. Walkers raising a minimum of $50 receive a t-shirt. www.alzca.org for more info.
Statewide Day of Prayer and Remembrance, Sunday, November 10.
Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama Annual Meeting and Candel Lighting Service, Thursday, November 14, 6 – 7:30.
News to know:
Launched in 2012, World Alzheimer’s Month is an international campaign every September to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia. Two out of three people globally believe there is little or no understanding of dementia in their countries, yet the statistics are staggering: every 3 seconds someone in the world develops dementia; every 65 seconds in the United States. The number of people living with dementia around the world is over 50 million. In the United States over 5.8 million Americans are living with dementia and being cared for by 16 million unpaid family caregivers providing an estimated18.5 billion hours of care annually.
To mark World Alzheimer’s Month, consider these powerful words on the “task” of the caregiver from ClergyAgainstAlzheimer’s founding member and co-editor of Dementia-friendly Worship: A Multifaith Handbook for Chaplains, Clergy and Faith Communities, Rabbi Steven M. Glazer:
The task of the caregiver is not to cure, but to give to the person who is ill the most valuable gift that we can give them, the gift of reassurance and unconditional love. Every day we have the power and the ability to send a message to the one for whom we care, whether they have the power and the ability to receive and comprehend it or not. We have the power to say to them, by our words and by our deeds, that: “You matter to me, and in my eyes you are still precious. You may not know who you are anymore, but I know who you are, and I care about you. Despite the damage that illness has done to your body and your mind, you are still precious to me.” And, if you can do that, if you can send that message, as difficult as it is to convey and as difficult as it is to receive, I can think of no act that anyone can perform that is of greater value than this.
Give me the strength and patience, O Lord, to approach those under my care with unconditional love and reassurance, knowing that, even in their broken states, they remain children of God, in whose souls reside Divine sparks. Amen.
Alzheimer’s Talks host Meryl Comer speaks with one of the nation’s leading Alzheimer’s disease researchers, Dr. R. Scott Turner, director of the Georgetown University Memory Disorders Program, about the current Alzheimer’s drug pipeline and related questions of diagnosis and prevention methods. Listen to our latest Alzheimer’s Talks podcast
Healthy lifestyle associated with lower risk of dementia independent of genetic risk, study finds— Large U.K-based study finds that self-reported healthy lifestyle was associated with lower risk of dementia among participants with varying levels of genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, another dementia or MCI can affect your choices of how to travel, where to go and what’s even possible.Whether you are living with the disease or a caregiver, the A-LIST® wants to understand whether this disease has affected your ability to take a vacation or your concerns about future travel. The A-LIST is a ground-breaking patient and caregiver-led collaborative of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, industry, government agencies and patient advocates that will deliver to regulatory and payer authorities, new insights into the preferred treatment and health outcomes sought by those living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Please take this short survey to let us know
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Congress has made significant progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s, but there is more work to do! Below are two bills that would provide additional funding for the fight against Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s Research and Caregiving Trust Fund:
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Rep. Peter King (R-NY), working with AFA, introduced legislation (H.R. 3453) that would allow taxpayers to voluntarily contribute to a new Alzheimer’s Research and Caregiving (ARC) Trust Fund through a checkoff box on their income tax forms. Funds raised would support Alzheimer’s research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and caregiver support services through the Administration for Community Living (ACL).
Alzheimer’s Disease Research Semipostal Stamp Bill:
Since it was first issued in November of 2017, sales of the Alzheimer’s semipostal stamp have raised nearly $1 million for Alzheimer’s disease research at the NIH. Authorization for the stamp, however, runs out in this November. Legislation in the House (H.R. 3113) and Senate (S. 1728) would allow the Alzheimer’s semipostal stamp to be sold for an additional six years, providing additional funding for Alzheimer’s research.
Contact your representatives in the House and Senate and ask them to cosponsor these bills Not sure who your representatives are? Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 or click here.
Falls and Home Safety in Alzheimer’s Disease free webinar, September 12. Sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. To learn more and to register, click here
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