Alzheimer Society of Greater Simcoe County celebrates 25 years!

The Alzheimer Society of Greater Simcoe County celebrated 25 years at the South Shore Center, and I was proud to take part in their celebration. This chapter has been instrumental in supporting my family when my father in law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  They hold regular support meetings that my Mother in law and I attended in the early years of Dad's disease and they even went to my daughters classroom and explained Alzheimer's to her and her classmates.  This was not only extremely helpful in helping our daughter understand what her grandfather was going through but she also found out that she was not the only student in her classroom who had a grandfather or relative with the disease.

The Alzheimer Society kicked off the night with the airing of the documentary "Forgetful not Forgotten."  This is one documentary you

When my Father in law was first diagnosed we did what every family does and researched the disease.  At first it was hard to tell the signs of the disease with Dad.  It wasn't until Mom needed us more frequently that we saw that Dad was slowly being affected by the disease.  We seeked help from CCAC and had Dad assessed, I remember that day vividly.  They asked him simply questions like name a four legged animal and he couldn't name one even though he had a dog for almost all his life.  They asked him to draw a picture of a clock, something he use to make for family members and he could not draw one correctly.  It was very painful to watch and threw us into reality that Dad's mind was not working correctly.  We were then told after the assessment that he would need care 24/7, thinking we would get some help in his care, we learned that they could only give us 1 day 4 hours.  You can imagine my thoughts.  What the heck were we suppose to do with the rest of the week?  See, my Mother in law is considered legally blind and my husband is the only child and we have three children of our own so how were we going to manage the care he required. 

Well, we took the 4 hours, seeked help from veterans affair since Dad was a veteran, and went looking for what other support was out there in our community.  We took time from our jobs and family and pulled together as best as we could.  It became clear that we needed to look into long term care facilities and get Dad's name on the waiting list.  I tell you, that is a very hard process to go through, and when the call comes in, it is so very emotional for the whole family.  You begin to second guess, feel like you failed, feel guilt, but you know in your heart that this is what is best for all involved.  Not just the fact of his care, and his health but also the health of the family caregivers.  

Unlike Chris' story, we still have Dad with us.  Seeing the Wynn family during the final years and days of the disease was very hard to watch, since I know one day my family will be dealing with the final years and days with Dad.  I am not looking forward to those days and I cherish each moment and day we have with Dad. 

Thank you Chris for sharing your personal story, thank you for making me feel not alone.  Thank you to the Alzheimer Society for organiizing this event and educating the public and community on this sad disease. 

Tonight just reconfirmed why I am in the business of insurance, and my passion to spread the word about long term care insurance.  Everyone deserves to have choices, live with dignity, and to never feel they are a burden.