Saturday, April 29, 2023

Global Youth Service Day Weekend

 Thanks to a grant from HERSHEY I was able to involve students in Global Youth Service Day.

We are so grateful to the HERSHEY corporation for their grant.

We had 83 volunteers delivering over 500 jigsaw puzzles to memory care facilities. The people living with Alzheimer's received a wonderful stimulating activity which may slow the progression of the disease. The student volunteers felt wonderful about distributing puzzles to help improve the lives of people living with Alzheimer's disease. They even volunteered to solve some of the puzzles with the residents!







Friday, April 21, 2023

The Stages of Alzheimer's Disease

Preclinical - the person has no symptoms but the beta amyloid plaques are still present, and biomarkers are discovered.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) - Grandma had this stage for a while. The person is forgetful but it is not enough to greatly interfere with their life. Sometimes it is even hard to determine if it is normal aging or a very very early stage of the disease.

Mild Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease - trouble remembering things they just learned

Moderate Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease - confusion takes over

Severe Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease - loss of ability to communicate.

WHAT IS NOT LOST?  THE ABILITY TO LOVE YOUR FAMILY MEMBER THROUGH ALL STAGES. 

Do not forget that we can still kiss our family member, hold our family member and love them deeply!

Please always know that you are not alone!  There are a lot of us out there!