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Support Alzheimer’s by attending a Coffee Break

October 15, 2015   ·   0 Comments

“It occurred to me that at one point it was like I had two diseases – one was Alzheimer’s and the other was knowing I had Alzheimer’s,” said Terry Prachett, a writer who was diagnosed with the dreaded disease. Too often, he wrote, the response was downcast eyes or a loss for words, a loss relating to confusion, not knowing what to say, or surprise.
Exactly what does one say to a person with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD)? Is there anything that can be done for those suffering with the disease? What are the signs, and how can one help their neighbor, their mother, their friend. How can a person respond if they don’t know what it is?
In October, the three branches of the New Tecumseth Public Libraries will host the ‘Coffee Break for Alzheimer’s’ evenings at 6:30 p.m. with a speaker from the Alzheimer’s Society of South Simcoe.
Events take place:
• October 6th at the Alliston Memorial branch;
• October 14th at the DA Jones branch in Beeton; and
• October 15th at the Pam Kirkpatrick branch in Tottenham.
After the talk, take the opportunity to have coffee and refreshments, participate in a question and answer session, share your experiences and learn from others who may be caregiver or family to someone affected by Alzheimer’s and related disorders.
Did you know there are steps that can be taken to lower the risk and there are stages to the disease that often robs memory, changes perception, and affects moods? There are times when memory is gone but it is not due to Alzheimer’s Disease.
There is a way you can help, be it having more information for an effective response, volunteering or contributing to the Society, or offering support through your increased knowledge and understanding about what is happening to your neighbor, your mother, your friend.
Today, Alzheimer’s disease affects one in eleven people over the age of 65.72 per cent women. Fifty thousand of those cases occur in patients under the age of 60, with 250,000 cases a year, one every two minutes, being diagnosed.
Make your support count even more through knowledge, understanding, and action.
Call 705 722-1066 for further information and to find out more about hosting or attending a ‘Coffee Break for Alzheimer’s’ in South Simcoe.

By Anne Ritchie

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