You Can Shut Down the Government, But You Can't Shut Down Alzheimer's

Editor's note: this blog post originally appeared on Huffington Post 50 Here is something that doesn't stop when the government closes down: Alzheimer's. When Louise was 3, her mother, Zoe, who was 29 at the time, was diagnosed with dementia. She is now 42, living in a home care facility unable to walk or talk. Then there is Charlie Collier, who for 25 years traveled the country seeking donations for Harvard University. Charlie gained a national reputation in the field of family philanthropy. Now, he is speaking out -- as much as he is able -- on a topic even

'Surviving Grace': A Story Of Hope And Possibilities

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on Huffington Post 50. As a determined woman, activist, mother and writer, I've learned to stay humble (kids help you be that), work hard and to never take "no" for an answer. It's been 26 years since my mom was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. This was the first time in my life that I had to accept "no, there is no cure" as the only answer available. At that time, I barely knew what the disease was. What I did know is there was no cure. My mother, this elegant lioness, was reduced

How Blue Button Can Help Caregivers and Beat Alzheimer's

Editor's note: This blog post originally appeared on The Huffington Post It's one of this century's most glaring paradoxes. You can do almost anything on your smart phone -- buy a book, find a taxi, manage your investment portfolio, watch a Yankees game while in Mogadishu -- but you can't get to your health records. The Internet, great disruptive force that it is, can't penetrate the wall between you and your own health information siloed away in your doctors' files. Remember the days, decades ago, when email systems in different companies couldn't speak to each other? It seems like ancient

Alzheimer’s Is the New HIV

Editor's note: this piece orginally appeared on David's personal blog It is not every day that I walk out of a medical school lecture truly inspired. The topic was on HIV and how far we have come in the treatment and management of the disease. We’ve all heard how “HIV is no longer a death sentence,” but actually going through the details on how much success we’ve had in treating HIV is amazing. I remember learning about HIV in school when I was in 5th grade. I recall seeing pictures of the progression of someone who had HIV and didn’t

G8: Leading a Global Response to Alzheimer's

Editor's Note: This blog post originally appeared on Huffington Post Breaking news: Political leader delivers on promise. To wit: The British government has just announced that it will host a G8 Summit in December dedicated to Alzheimer's and Dementia. The announcement of the London event delivers on Prime Minister David Cameron's pledge to use the UK's Presidency of the G8 to launch a global initiative to address Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Cameron's leadership is a notable victory not only for those who suffer from Alzheimer's, but for families, communities and society at large. The prevalence of Alzheimer's is exploding around the

5 Things to Never Say to a Person With Alzheimer's

Editor's note: This blog post originally appeared on Huffington Post Yesterday afternoon, I walked into the spacious room belonging to Mary, a woman with dementia who has few visitors and with whom I've volunteered to spend a little time every week. I greeted her, complimented her on her beautiful turquoise sweater, and shook her hand. Then I sat down at her little table that was overflowing with books, photographs, the newspaper and other items she wants to keep close at hand. I started off by picking up a small framed photo of Mary with her husband and three children --

The Invisible Victims of Alzheimer’s Disease: Family Caregivers

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared in the July 2013 edition of the LEAD Coalition newsletter, which you can read online here To a few close family and friends who know me as a longtime caregiver and advocate for my aging parents and (more recently) my in-laws, I have done the impossible: survived 17 years of struggling to support the needs of three-out-of-four parents who have either died from, or currently struggle with, some form of dementia. To the rest of the world, I am invisible. At 46 years old, I am a small business owner, I have a college

Was My Mom Abused?

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on Trish's AARP Blog On July 2, USA Today reported that more than 20 former employees of a Georgia Alzheimer's care center are facing dozens of criminal charges after a three-month state investigation uncovered allegations of cruel treatments of patients. The cruelty ranged from physical abuse - slapping patients and throwing water on them - to outright neglect and financial exploitation. Other abuse included shackling patients to their beds with sheets and 'double diapering' so the staff wouldn't have to change soiled diapers so often. As it turns out, various staff members had prior

A Long, Long Way From Home

Editor's note: this piece originally appeared on Lisa's blog, My Mom, My Hero This was probably 1942 right after my mom and dad had gotten married. Dad enlisted in the Navy and mom went to work on a army base in Brooklyn, N.Y. This was over seventy years ago. Unfortunately dad passed away 18 years ago and mom has no recollection of any of this. Today my mom is not sure where her home is. When she is having a hard day she repeats many times that she wants to go home, and it is always the home that belonged

We Are Women, Hear Us Roar

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on Huffington Post Impact Okay, so here is the Alzheimer's disease reality: Women are twice as likely as men to have Alzheimer's. Women are also twice as likely as men to be caretakers of Alzheimer's victims. Have I gotten your attention yet? We of the gentler, weaker, more adaptable sex are screwed. We're talking big numbers -- of the 5,100,000 victims of this fatal disease, 3,400,000 are women. Of the 15,000,000 caregivers, 10,000,000 are women. Many of these women have to quit their jobs because tending to Alzheimer's patients is a 24-7 job with