At Least Alzheimer's Research Is Bringing Washington Together

This op-ed originally appear in The Hill newspaper on February 15, 2018. In an era of extreme partisanship, there is one issue that continues to inspire collaboration and even comradery among members of both parties: the fight to stop Alzheimer’s. Click here to continue reading.

Using Music to Engage and Comfort People Living with Alzheimer’s Disease

Music has the power to reach people with Alzheimer’s disease on a deep level. Many patients can sing songs long after their Alzheimer’s has progressed beyond the point of recognizing loved ones, dressing themselves, or even remembering what happened five minutes earlier. I personally used to listen to music on a regular basis with my 92-year-old Romanian soul mate and he always enjoyed it. His face would light up and he would move in time with the music. Sometimes he would hum along. Two instances stand out. One was when I pretended to be conducting the music, emulating the type

Conversations with Greg O'Brien

“Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things”—Marcus Tullius Cicero, 63 BC Having spent an extensive career in newspapering, there’s an old axiom in the media: if you don’t tell your own story, someone else will tell it for you. So here’s our story in summary. From a perspective of those living with dementia, we’re best to tell it. I stand before you today as a humble messenger. As a person living with Alzheimer’s, one whose family tree has been shaken horribly by this disease, I can tell you with great assurance that the most accurate perspective on dementia

The Alzheimer's Stamp

The release of the Alzheimer's stamp represents eighteen years of continuous effort on the part of friend and fellow advocate Kathy Siggins, and nine years of continuous effort on my part. If you think...

"Missing Jim"

Jim was 47 years old when we started recognizing something was changing and started searching for a diagnosis, which took over two years. He had been retired from the Air Force, as a Senior Master Sergeant, for five years. He passed away in June 2016 at the age of 52. Our children are now 14 and 17 and also helped care for him while he was still home. Unfortunately, he had a violent episode and we were unable to keep him in our home, so he spent the last eight months of his life in a memory care facility. His

October 2017 - Out And About With UsAgainstAlzheimer's

October kicked off with our annual convening: the 2017 National Alzheimer's Summit: Uniting Communities for a Cure. It was wonderful to have advocates from across the country join us in Washington D.C. for this three-day event. Below is more information on our Summit as well as some of the other ways our team pushed for a cure this month. If you missed the previous posts, check out what we were up to in June, July, August, and September. Los Angeles, California The Alzheimer’s team received the top score at the 2017 XPRIZE Visioneers Summit and are now moving forward on

Out And About With UsAgainstAlzheimer’s In September 2017: Uniting Communities For A Cure

Our team was busy in September, which was World Alzheimer’s Month, as we worked to stop Alzheimer’s disease. If you missed the previous posts, check out what we were up to in June and July and August. Los Angeles, California So proud of our work w/ @ALZGLA & @USCRoybal to empower #Latinos w/ #Alzheimers education & research pic.twitter.com/1VlPbJv2v3 — LatinosAgainstAlz (@UsA2_Latinos) September 24, 2017 LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's worked with its partners USC and Alzheimer's Greater Los Angeles to present a performance of El Cuidador (The Caregiver) during Hispanic Heritage Month. The play told the story of one Latino family's journey with Alzheimer's

Come Away! Rest A While!

Mark 6:31 Jesus said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” The disciples had just learned that John the Baptist had been executed and they came and told Jesus. They also told Jesus of all they had done and taught. Then Jesus extended to them an invitation to take care of themselves after all they had heard and done. I have learned so much from this invitation and four words just popped out: Come-Away-Rest-A While! I often think that after we have heard tragic news or after we have worn ourselves out