This morning local news media reported an elderly man with dementia was missing from him home in unincoporated El Cajon. He had been last seen driving a red pickup out of town.
The good news is the man was found near the U.S.-Mexico border and is presumably now safe and secured. But reports like this one are unsettling on a couple of levels.
First, the border patrol officer is quoted as saying Mr. Heil suffers from "early-onset dementia." But he's 86 years old. Early-onset is a more rare form that strikes people under 65. What we suspect is Mr. Heil recently was diagnosed with dementia, which is much different.
But that's not what prompted this post. It's that Mr. Heil (and his family) knew he had dementia and that he frequently was lost and confused and yet allowed him to continue to drive. This made Mr. Heil a danger to others every time he got behind the wheel.
While it may be difficult to do, it is important that families come together to take the keys from a parent, spouse or sibling once they are diagnosed with dementia and especially if they display symptoms that could cause them to become disoriented on the road.
In July 2010, we posted some tips on how to do this. One tip we wish to underscore is calling your Division of Motor Vehicles and requesting an elder driver be retested. You can ask a physician to make the call if you can't. The driver is never told of the tip and instead receives a letter asking him or her to come in to their local branch to be retested.
Mr. Heil's disappearance had a happy ending, and we're grateful for that. But his case also serves as a warning that families - and neighbors if an elder resident lacks nearby relatives - need to be more heavyhanded when it comes to driving.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Free Caregiver Workshop in February
Alzheimer's Caregiving: The Team Approach
Thursday, February 23, 2012
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Continental Breakfast included.)
Lake San Marcos Resort Conference Center
1025 La Bonita Drive
San Marcos, CA 92078
Memory loss resulting from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have a profound impact on the family. Join us for a morning session with Alzheimer’s disease experts and learn how to empower and protect yourself and your loved one. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease takes a dedicated team of family members, friends, medical professionals and experts.
Learn how to assemble your team and where to go to pull together the information and resources you need to make yourself a successful and confident leader of that Caregiving Team.
Join us as we spend the morning with medical experts from the ActivCare® and The George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers Medical Advisory Boards.
Speakers:
Neil Levine, M.D. - Board Certified Internist
Alan Berkowitz, M.D. - Psychiatrist specializing in Geriatric Medicine
Amy Abrams, MSW/MPH, CMC - Geriatric Care Manager
Family Caregiver
Free adult day care offered during the event at The George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers. Reservations required at least one week prior. Call our Encinitas Center at (760) 635-1895.
To RSVP, please log onto Activcareliving.com or call ActivCare at 888-MEM-LOSS.
* This course meets the qualifications for three hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE 646) and three hours of continuing education credit as required by the Board of Registered Nursing (CEP 9035).
Thursday, February 23, 2012
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Continental Breakfast included.)
Lake San Marcos Resort Conference Center
1025 La Bonita Drive
San Marcos, CA 92078
Memory loss resulting from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have a profound impact on the family. Join us for a morning session with Alzheimer’s disease experts and learn how to empower and protect yourself and your loved one. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease takes a dedicated team of family members, friends, medical professionals and experts.
Learn how to assemble your team and where to go to pull together the information and resources you need to make yourself a successful and confident leader of that Caregiving Team.
Join us as we spend the morning with medical experts from the ActivCare® and The George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers Medical Advisory Boards.
Speakers:
Neil Levine, M.D. - Board Certified Internist
Alan Berkowitz, M.D. - Psychiatrist specializing in Geriatric Medicine
Amy Abrams, MSW/MPH, CMC - Geriatric Care Manager
Family Caregiver
Free adult day care offered during the event at The George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers. Reservations required at least one week prior. Call our Encinitas Center at (760) 635-1895.
To RSVP, please log onto Activcareliving.com or call ActivCare at 888-MEM-LOSS.
* This course meets the qualifications for three hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE 646) and three hours of continuing education credit as required by the Board of Registered Nursing (CEP 9035).
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Contest Provides Way to Preserve Memories
Omaha, NE-based Home Instead Senior Care has launched a contest to help families keep cherished memories alive. The "I Will Remember for You Family Reunion Giveaway" encourages caregivers to submit a story in either written or video format about an experience with a family member who lived or is living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementia. Learn more about entries.
Grand prize is a family reunion that includes activities to help family members create and capture special memories together such as a scrapbooking and shadow box station, a memory booth to capture videos, photos or written thoughts, and assistance from a professional family historian to create a family memory anthology. Depending on the winner's location, in-home care during reunion activities may be included in the package.
Here are some ground rules, based on a news release issued by the company.
Essays and videos need to:
1. Share how Alzheimer's has impacted a family's life.
2. Talk about the role that memories and remembering have played in the family, especially with regard to the member who now has or had Alzheimer's.
3. Share specific stories or examples of how family members cope or coped with challenges of Alzheimer's disease.
4. Tell why this family deserves to win the family reunion.
Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST January 31, 2012. The top three finalists will be notified by a judge's panel by Feb. 15, 2012. The judging panel to select the three finalists will include Carole Anderson, Vice President of Education at the American Society on Aging. Online voting to select the grand prize winner will occur from March 28 through June 30, 2012.
The grand prize winner will be publicly revealed in November 2012, following the family reunion event.
Grand prize is a family reunion that includes activities to help family members create and capture special memories together such as a scrapbooking and shadow box station, a memory booth to capture videos, photos or written thoughts, and assistance from a professional family historian to create a family memory anthology. Depending on the winner's location, in-home care during reunion activities may be included in the package.
Here are some ground rules, based on a news release issued by the company.
Essays and videos need to:
1. Share how Alzheimer's has impacted a family's life.
2. Talk about the role that memories and remembering have played in the family, especially with regard to the member who now has or had Alzheimer's.
3. Share specific stories or examples of how family members cope or coped with challenges of Alzheimer's disease.
4. Tell why this family deserves to win the family reunion.
Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST January 31, 2012. The top three finalists will be notified by a judge's panel by Feb. 15, 2012. The judging panel to select the three finalists will include Carole Anderson, Vice President of Education at the American Society on Aging. Online voting to select the grand prize winner will occur from March 28 through June 30, 2012.
The grand prize winner will be publicly revealed in November 2012, following the family reunion event.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Chula Vista Adopts Technology to Track Alzheimer's Patients
Regular readers will recall one of our staff members "lost" an aunt over the holidays when the woman, 58, failed to return from a quick trip to a South Bay drug store. She suffered from diabetes and mental illness and communities on both sides of the border mounted a search. Fortunately, Yolanda Lopez was found a week later at a Tijuana bus stop by her family. She is much improved now and her family is taking measures to keep her safe.
Now the city of Chula Vista has announced it is the first in San Diego County to start using new tracking technology called EmSeeQ, a wrist device worn by someone with or dementia. It has a mesh band that can't be easily cut or come lose. It also has a lock that only a caregiver is able to open, according to a local news report.
The technology works off cell phone towers, so it is still active should someone enter an enclosed space that GPS satellites may not be able to penetrate. When a loved one wanders, the caregiver can alert authorities who then use the technology to pinpoint their whereabouts. Best of all, Chula Vista is offering the device free to residents who qualify as part of the pilot program.
Many people already are familiar with the Alzheimer's Associations' Safe Return Program, which last year introduced a GPS tool to also help with tracking. Both are part of a growing trend to help families caring at home for members with dementia. Wandering is a major issue that all caregivers must understand and take proactive steps to prevent.
Here are some practical tips to help reduce wandering.
And here is a news report on the Chula Vista initiative.
Now the city of Chula Vista has announced it is the first in San Diego County to start using new tracking technology called EmSeeQ, a wrist device worn by someone with or dementia. It has a mesh band that can't be easily cut or come lose. It also has a lock that only a caregiver is able to open, according to a local news report.
The technology works off cell phone towers, so it is still active should someone enter an enclosed space that GPS satellites may not be able to penetrate. When a loved one wanders, the caregiver can alert authorities who then use the technology to pinpoint their whereabouts. Best of all, Chula Vista is offering the device free to residents who qualify as part of the pilot program.
Many people already are familiar with the Alzheimer's Associations' Safe Return Program, which last year introduced a GPS tool to also help with tracking. Both are part of a growing trend to help families caring at home for members with dementia. Wandering is a major issue that all caregivers must understand and take proactive steps to prevent.
Here are some practical tips to help reduce wandering.
And here is a news report on the Chula Vista initiative.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Could a Nicotine Patch Boost Memory?
A study being reported in various news media today gave dermal patches to 70 individuals, some with nicotine and others with a placebo.
"There were improvements in attention and memory performance in patients who took the nicotine patch compared to those with the placebo patch," lead researcher Dr. Paul Newhouse, a Vanderbilt University psychiatrist, told National Public Radio. "The placebo patients stayed the same or got worse."
Newhouse was quick to point out that the patch worked only on those who might show signs of Mild Cognitive Impairment, which is sometimes a precursor to Alzheimer's Disease. (Not everyone with MCI advance to Alzheimer's.) Those already diagnosed with latter-stage Alzheimer's likely would not see an improvement because the receptors in the brain that nicotine taps are already damaged by the disease.
And the researchers caution that this limited study does not imply people with mild memory impairment should take up smoking, which has long been known to cause cancers and other life-threatening illnesses - including vascular dementia.
As the smoking rate in the U.S. continues to decline - it's currently around 15% of the population; 11.5% in California - the makers of nicotine patches will no doubt welcome the possibility of another use. But much more research is needed to see if introducing nicotine to the pristine system of a non-smoker is really the best way to obtaining a memory boost.
Article: Nicotine Patches Up Early Memory Loss
Friday, January 6, 2012
Study Shows Our Brains Begin Decline in Our 40s
A new study suggests our brains begin to slip as early as our 40s.
In widely distributed article in today’s USAToday shows mental decline – memory, reasoning and comprehension – begins at 45 to 49, and not in our 60s as we all have long believed.
The study began in 1985 and involved 5,200 male and 2,200 female British civil servants between the ages of 45 and 70. They were periodically tested for memory, vocabulary, hearing and vision. Everyone in the group experienced a drop in cognition over the years. Men 45 to 49 saw a nearly 4 percent drop (compared to 10 percent in those 65-70) and women the same age suffered a 5 percent memory and reasoning loss (7 percent for the older group).
This study also confirms that we’ve probably always had minor memory issues that weren’t as big a deal until Alzheimer’s experts lowered the diagnosis threshold. What should we do? Same thing we do for any other organ: keep the brain healthy. Eat and exercise in healthful ways and engage the brain daily by learning something new and doing mental exercises and cognitive therapy to retain memories and feed your thoughts.
The Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers have materials on early memory loss at our corporate office in Hillcrest (3702 Fourth Avenue). Stop by to look in our Reagan Library next time you’re in town.
Article: Mental decline can start at 45, study says
In widely distributed article in today’s USAToday shows mental decline – memory, reasoning and comprehension – begins at 45 to 49, and not in our 60s as we all have long believed.
The study began in 1985 and involved 5,200 male and 2,200 female British civil servants between the ages of 45 and 70. They were periodically tested for memory, vocabulary, hearing and vision. Everyone in the group experienced a drop in cognition over the years. Men 45 to 49 saw a nearly 4 percent drop (compared to 10 percent in those 65-70) and women the same age suffered a 5 percent memory and reasoning loss (7 percent for the older group).
This study also confirms that we’ve probably always had minor memory issues that weren’t as big a deal until Alzheimer’s experts lowered the diagnosis threshold. What should we do? Same thing we do for any other organ: keep the brain healthy. Eat and exercise in healthful ways and engage the brain daily by learning something new and doing mental exercises and cognitive therapy to retain memories and feed your thoughts.
The Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers have materials on early memory loss at our corporate office in Hillcrest (3702 Fourth Avenue). Stop by to look in our Reagan Library next time you’re in town.
Article: Mental decline can start at 45, study says
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Guest Post: What It's Like to Have Young Onset Alzheimer's
Editor's Note: We earlier mentioned Michael Ellenbogen, who is trying to spread the word about early-onset Alzheimer's Disease in order for more people to become familiar with the signs and the scope in order to devote more resources to prevention and a cure. Michael wrote today's guest post exclusively for our blog.
My name is Michael Ellenbogen. I am a writer. I am a husband. I am a father. I was a high level manager. In 2008, at age 49, I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after struggling to get a diagnosis since my first symptoms at age 39. Now I am frustrated, frustrated, and more frustrated. Not because I have Alzheimer’s, but because of the disparity and stigma surrounding this disease.
Everywhere I turn, I hear or see something related to Cancer and HIV. The government contributes 18.7 percent of the NIH research budget to cancer, 9.9% to HIV, and Alzheimer’s receives only 1.45%. This leaves me with one question. Why? There are so many more people living with Alzheimer’s than HIV, yet we receive so much less funding.
Why is it that no one wants to talk about this disease? Why are stars or famous people not proud to stand up and support this cause? I realize there is no pretty outcome, but that is why we all need their help. There are so many of us who are directly impacted by this disease and we choose to do nothing. I know it’s not easy and most are so overwhelmed dealing with the disease. If we do not use our precious time for this cause, who will?
Alzheimer’s disease has impacted so many aspects of my life, like my career, but I was surprised by how it has impacted my hobbies. Not that I had many. I used to love driving a boat and tinkering with electronics, but I can no longer do either of these things. Electronics are not forgiving, and if you make a mistake the projects can go poooofff, when I touch the wrong component. This has happened.
I have tried to take up new hobbies such as golf, but learning new things is difficult. I could not keep track of the ball and had trouble trying to follow the ball. It took me much longer to tee off then others, and I felt too much pressure when I was slowing down the people behind me. I would love to play golf, but at my speed and without all the pressure.
The only good thing about having the disease is that I am able to advocate for the cause, and speak for the many others that can no longer write, speak or have passed on. So please help me with my call for help to help. I need to get the backing of famous people so we can change the perception that exists with Alzheimer’s today. It does not only affect the older generation, but it has an even bigger impact on the younger generation when they are diagnosed. I know it’s very easy to read this article, have a moment of feeling sorry, and then to just move on without doing anything.
Keep in mind this could one day affect you, your spouse, your son or daughter, their grandchildren, or even a close friend. Please do not wait till that day. Do something today. Think of all the lives you can save if you start now, maybe even their lives.
Please help me by joining my cause to make others aware of this debilitating disease and how it also affects young people. The youngest on record is 24 years old. Please reach out to me at my website so we can work together to make Alzheimer’s disease end with me. Someone will develop the disease every 69 seconds. That number will increase to every 33 seconds by 2050.
Don’t wait, our time and lives, are too valuable.
http://www.michaelellenbogenmovement.com/
My name is Michael Ellenbogen. I am a writer. I am a husband. I am a father. I was a high level manager. In 2008, at age 49, I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after struggling to get a diagnosis since my first symptoms at age 39. Now I am frustrated, frustrated, and more frustrated. Not because I have Alzheimer’s, but because of the disparity and stigma surrounding this disease.
Everywhere I turn, I hear or see something related to Cancer and HIV. The government contributes 18.7 percent of the NIH research budget to cancer, 9.9% to HIV, and Alzheimer’s receives only 1.45%. This leaves me with one question. Why? There are so many more people living with Alzheimer’s than HIV, yet we receive so much less funding.
Why is it that no one wants to talk about this disease? Why are stars or famous people not proud to stand up and support this cause? I realize there is no pretty outcome, but that is why we all need their help. There are so many of us who are directly impacted by this disease and we choose to do nothing. I know it’s not easy and most are so overwhelmed dealing with the disease. If we do not use our precious time for this cause, who will?
Alzheimer’s disease has impacted so many aspects of my life, like my career, but I was surprised by how it has impacted my hobbies. Not that I had many. I used to love driving a boat and tinkering with electronics, but I can no longer do either of these things. Electronics are not forgiving, and if you make a mistake the projects can go poooofff, when I touch the wrong component. This has happened.
I have tried to take up new hobbies such as golf, but learning new things is difficult. I could not keep track of the ball and had trouble trying to follow the ball. It took me much longer to tee off then others, and I felt too much pressure when I was slowing down the people behind me. I would love to play golf, but at my speed and without all the pressure.
The only good thing about having the disease is that I am able to advocate for the cause, and speak for the many others that can no longer write, speak or have passed on. So please help me with my call for help to help. I need to get the backing of famous people so we can change the perception that exists with Alzheimer’s today. It does not only affect the older generation, but it has an even bigger impact on the younger generation when they are diagnosed. I know it’s very easy to read this article, have a moment of feeling sorry, and then to just move on without doing anything.
Keep in mind this could one day affect you, your spouse, your son or daughter, their grandchildren, or even a close friend. Please do not wait till that day. Do something today. Think of all the lives you can save if you start now, maybe even their lives.
Please help me by joining my cause to make others aware of this debilitating disease and how it also affects young people. The youngest on record is 24 years old. Please reach out to me at my website so we can work together to make Alzheimer’s disease end with me. Someone will develop the disease every 69 seconds. That number will increase to every 33 seconds by 2050.
Don’t wait, our time and lives, are too valuable.
http://www.michaelellenbogenmovement.com/
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A Happy Ending to the Year
We wanted to update everyone on the disappearance of Josephina Yolanda Lopez, who was found a week later (Dec. 31) in Tijuana. Thanks to a massive search by authorities, family, friends and communities, Yolanda was found at a Tijuana bus stop. She had been robbed, beaten and in need of immediate medical attention, but now she is much better and her family is grateful to find her and to everyone who helped in the search.
Here's a local story with more details.
Yolanda, 58, suffers from diabetes and bipolar disorder. She is the aunt of one of our staffers, and we once again wanted to extend our own thanks for those of you who phoned, called and stopped by our offices to see how you could help. The joint effort by everyone paid off!
Yolanda's family now plans to take steps to ensure she does not wander again. At a minimum she is going to be enrolled in the Safe Return Program in Long Beach and will wear a bracelet with GPS to help track her whereabouts in the event she eludes family again.
Here's a local story with more details.
Yolanda, 58, suffers from diabetes and bipolar disorder. She is the aunt of one of our staffers, and we once again wanted to extend our own thanks for those of you who phoned, called and stopped by our offices to see how you could help. The joint effort by everyone paid off!
Yolanda's family now plans to take steps to ensure she does not wander again. At a minimum she is going to be enrolled in the Safe Return Program in Long Beach and will wear a bracelet with GPS to help track her whereabouts in the event she eludes family again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)