A Faith-filled Companion for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregivers

Rev. Dr. Angelica is a contributor to our interfaith book Seasons of Caring and a founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer's Clergy Network. - Trish Seasons of Caring: Meditations for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32) We caregivers can no longer avoid the truth: Caring for someone who is diminishing from Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia will be a challenging, life-changing experience. As the Gospel of John tells us, knowing this truth will set us free – free to ask for and receive vital help. Family caregivers need not

If It Could Happen To Robin Williams…

This post originally appeared in the Alzheimer's Reading Room. - Trish It was 1978. I had just settled down to catch an episode of “Happy Days,” a funny, sweet TV show – a good escape. In the episode, The Fonz (Henry Winkler) heard a knock at the Cunningham’s front door. Outside stood Mork from Ork – Robin Williams in his first role. Mork was an endless barrage of jokes, pratfalls, catch-‘em-if-you-can rejoinders. You could get whiplash trying to keep up. He left me breathless just trying. My husband, who was working late that night, called just after the program ended

Happy Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, George and I will enjoy a meal with family and share what we're thankful for this year. But I want to get one in before we dig into the turkey and mashed potatoes. So thank you ... thank you for helping us grow UsAgainstAlzheimer's into a powerful machine to fight this senseless, cruel disease . We started from scratch, with little more than vision and a heart still reeling from the loss of my mom. Now, we've built six distinct networks and two national and international coalitions. We reach tens of millions globally, and we actually have a

Natural Causes?

Ben Bradlee, the legendary editor of The Washington Post who was best known for exposing "Watergate," died last week. According to the Washington Post and the New York Times, Bradlee died of "natural causes." Yet it was widely known and reported CNN, Sept. 29, and numerous other outlets] that he suffered from Alzheimer's for many years. Alzheimer's is a disease, a cruel and debilitating disease, and it is no more a 'natural cause' of death than cancer or heart disease. With characteristic courage, Ben Bradlee and his wife Sally Quinn, brought Alzheimer's out of the shadows. I believe newspapers need

3 Steps to Fight Alzheimer's

(Adapted from remarks made at a hearing sponsored by Congressman Steve Israel, D-NY) First, the federal government must re-prioritize its spending to make a stronger commitment to fund Alzheimer’s research. Four years ago, Congress declared War on Alzheimer’s by enacting the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), which in turn required our nation to develop a national plan to attack this disease. This plan established as Goal One preventing and treating Alzheimer’s by 2025. But, unfortunately, Congress never authorized any additional money for Alzheimer’s research when it created NAPA. Since we declared War on HIV/AIDS about 25 years ago, our federal