Lazy days of summer

Well, the heat has been unbearable here lately. And, it looks like high 90's and 100's are in the week to come. Last weekend, we went to a professional tennis tournament in Atlanta. It was 96 degrees and on the tennis court it was registering 140 degrees! We weren't that far from the court, so you can just imagine how hot we were. After 10 minutes in the stands, our clothes were soaked through. When we left our seats and came back, you couldn't sit on them they were so hot. Thank God they were wood, or we would have never been able to sit down. Ralph poured some water on the wood to try to cool it down and it actually boiled!! I know the tennis players are in a lot better shape and much younger than I but I don't know how they do it. One player did have to get an IV of fluids after his match -- I'm thinking others must have as well. The newspaper said that there were 39 people in the stands that had to have medical attention due to the heat and several were taken to the hospital over the course of the tournament.

Yesterday, we played golf but we rented a cart and didn't walk. It was still hot, but not bad when you are riding in a cart.

I've had a couple of "writing assignments" if you will for things for the Alz. Assn. lately and they have been really tough for me. Getting words out (even doing this blog) is getting harder and harder for me to do. I know what I want to say, I just can't get my thoughs collected enough to put on paper. It takes way too long to do it. Thanks to Alan and Jennifer for being my editors on one piece --- it's so frustrating to me. I think that is why I haven't been posting much, it is just too hard to get the thoughts out in an intelligent way......people already think you are stupid if you have Alzheimer's ......by reading my writing and it not making sense will add fuel to that fire!

So, thanks for reading even I don't make sense some time.

Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act/National Alzheimer's Project Act

Last March when I was in Washington at the Political Action Summit, one of the things we were asking our legislators to do was to sign on to a bill called the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act as well as the National Alzheimer's Project Act. These bills basically asked congress to make Alzheimer's a priority and to ask for $2 billion for research. This week, A bicycle ride is taking place where riders are riding from California to Washington DC to raise awareness for the Alzheimer's Breakthough Act.

I'm asking that you please go to this link and sign the on-line petition to support this legislation. it doesn't cost you anything but a few minutes of your time. We are hoping for 50,000 signatures and so far we are at 22,000 -- we need your help and it only takes a minute -- to make a big difference. Here's the link http://www.alz.org/research/breakthroughride/overview.asp

Thank you!!

Lots of news about Alzheimer's

The USA Today has an article about a couple dealing with Alzheimer's disease at an early age. I had the pleasure of getting to know Marilyn and Steve several years ago when we served on an Alzheimer's committee together. They are a delightful couple and you can read about them here. http://ee.usatoday.com/SUBSCRIBERS/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=VVNBLzIwMTAvMDcvMTM.&pageno=Mzc.&entity=QXIwMzcwMQ..&view=ZW50aXR5

You are probably seeing a lot about Alzheimer's these days in the news. The annual International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) is being held this week. For all the news that is happening please go to http://www.alz.org/. Lots of announcements are being made this week.

Jan's Story

A few weeks ago I told you all about Jan's Story. A book written by Barry Petersen, a CBS news reporter whose wife has younger on-set Alzheimer's. It's a wonderful book. It was a little hard to get through for me because it hit a little too close to home, but it is definitely worth reading. Barry shares his wife's personality so well, that you think you know her quite well all throughout the book. I know it must have been hard for him to write it. A few weeks ago this story aired on CBS Sunday morning. It's a good introduction to the book. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/20/sunday/main6600364.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;2

I ordered my book through Borders. But, you can also order it through Amazon. If you have a loved one that is dealing with Alzheimer's or you yourself are, please take time to read the book. It might be hard to get through, but you'll be glad you did.