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You're on TV!

12/24/2010

This is a re-post from an inquiry I received:

We are searching for women in LA, Miami and New York City, so if you have any interest in posting it to your blog, please feel free to post the following:
Strickman-Ripps Inc, a casting company, is working on a testimonial commercial about Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. We are looking for a daughter caregiver and her mother who has early to moderate stage Alzheimer disease to share their story. This is an opportunity to tell your story and help people who may be going through a similar experience.

If you are interested please email strickmanrippscasting@gmail.com or call 212-966-3211 with your contact information and answers to the preliminary questions listed below. You may then be contacted by a researcher from Strickman-Ripps Inc to see whether you and your mother qualify for an in-person video interview.

If selected for the commercial, the mother/daughter pair will be compensated.

Is your mother currently taking any prescription medication for Alzheimers? If so, which medication(s) is she currently taking?

0 Comments

I stopped counting.

12/9/2010

2 Comments

My mom asks me the same question over and over again. I respond with the same answer each and every time.
She was over at my house for dinner last night and she must have asked me over 10 times how old Natalie was. Natalie is my daughter and her grand-daughter. Mom babysat Natalie ever since she was an infant. Even now, Mom sees Natalie at least once a week.

I'm sure you know that a person with Alzheimer's tends to ask the same question over and over again.
After mom and dad left, Dave asked me how many times mom asked how old Natalie was.
I replied "I stopped counting."

It used to frustrate me when I had to answer the same question over and over again. Sometimes 10 times in a span of a few hours, some times more.

What I realized was mom's questions are important and relevant to her at the time. Her condition keeps her in the moment - at that moment. It doesn't matter how many times she has to ask, she keeps asking because it's what's front and center in her mind.

So, I stopped counting. Instead, I respond with an answer, and occasionally I follow up with another question or a statement such as "Mom, you must think about Natalie all the time.". She then smiles and tells me how she remembers her grand-daughter coming home from the hospital for the very first time, and how she held that baby infant in her arms to drink in her love.

It's amazing the kind of emotional memory mom still holds on to. She may forget what she heard five minutes ago, but she doesn't seem to forget how an event or a person made her feel. In this case, mom distinctly remembers Natalie coming home from the hospital 13 years ago.

She just doesn't remember that it was 13 years ago.

2 Comments

Author - Sharon Kim

My mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It took our family 3 years to get proper diagnosis. My sister and my father who are the primary caregivers for my mom are going through extreme challenges dealing with the impact of this disease. This is what inspired me to create and dedicate 4URLOVE to all the caregivers of Alzheimer's patients in the world for their commitment, love, sacrifice and unfathomable patience.

You're on TV!

I stopped counting.

Author - Sharon Kim

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