Confessions of a Jersey Girl has a post about an interesting Alzheimer’s research fundraiser. You register with the Alzheimer’s Association to throw a dinner party where the attendees donate at least $150 for research. Sounds like a great way to have an evening out, learn more about Alzheimer’s and help a worthy cause. I just may have to throw a dinner party myself.
In the meantime, though, I am hosting two crafty fundraisers. The first is a charm swap where everyone sends in 7 charms and gets 7 back. I am attaching my charms to a bracelet and auctioning them off on eBay. If you want to get in on the action, you have until October 5th to send me your 7 charms and postage to receive 7 charms back.
The other swap I am doing is a fat book of 16 pages for 15 pages. The extra page goes into a fat book that will be auctioned off on eBay. For details about signing up for this swap, which is due to me by November 15th, see my Stamping Mad blog.
I recently received a copy of Widow Words: 100 Simple Pieces of Advice from Another Widow
by Marcia Curran and thought I’d share my thoughts about the book with you. This little book was written by a widow who wanted to share advice with newly widowed women. These one hundred pieces of advice are deceptively simple and short. You can tell that the book was written by someone who had experienced the grief of losing a husband first hand, which I think is extremely important. I know that my grandmother could have really used this book.
A few of the pieces of advice you can find in “Widow Words” are:
- It’s ok to cry every day for months.
- It’s normal to think, But no one really understands what it’s like.
- Investigate all funny noises in your home.
I like that the entries are fairly short. Some are only a few words, but even the longest piece of advice is only a few paragraphs.
You may remember me talking about microchipping for Alzheimer’s patients. Well, ABC News says:
For families of the nearly 5 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, keeping their loved ones safe is a major concern.
In response to such concerns, a Florida-based company has developed an FDA-approved microchip that can be implanted in an Alzheimer’s patient’s arm, allowing critical medical details to be accessed instantly.
This article by the University of Utah talks about a badly needed change in the way Alzheimer’s is diagnosed. The author points out that current guidelines are quite out of date:
In a commentary on proposed new diagnostic criteria published in the same issue, Foster writes that advances in imaging technology and genetics, combined with greater understanding of the disease, now make it possible to identify Alzheimer’s even before dementia develops. Dementia is a symptom, and Alzheimer’s disease is only one of the many causes of dementia.
