Losing Grandma, part 3

You know your family has been using the same funeral home too long when you call and they know who you are.  "Oh honey you sound terrible, take care of yourself.  Go back to bed."  I'm still sick as a dog, this isn't right.
Went shopping with mom for funeral clothes and spent $30 at Wal-mart on ginger ale and various cold remedies. 
The obituary is in the paper and online at the funeral home.
Text (I left in the errors, I'm too sick to deal with them):

LENA G. NANA

February 23, 1918 - February 15, 2012

Lena Gresto Nana, 93, of 191 Pool Road, North Haven, passed away Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at MidState Medical Center, Meriden. She was the beloved wife of the late Louis A. Nana. Born in West Haven on February 23, 1918; daughter of the late Adelino Gresto, Sr. and Santina Petrucci Gresto. A resident of North Haven since 1922; Lena had worked at the former Uhl Cigar Company for 29 years until her retirement; was a very active member of the North Haven Senior Center where she did numerous charitable works including knitting and crocheting; was a volunteer exercise coordinator and a parishioner of St. Barnabas Church. Mother of Ann-Shirley Rizza of Wallingford. Grandmother of Roberta Piedmont and her husband William. Sister of Albert J. Gresto of Fullerton, CA and the late Andrew and Adelino “Joe” Gresto, Jr. Also survived by nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Predeceased by her son-in-law Robert Rizza Funeral services will be conducted in North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue, Friday morning at 11:00. Family and friends may call from 10:00 until time of service. Interment will follow in the North Haven Center Cemetery. Should friends desire memorial contributions may be made to the CT Hospice, Inc., 100 Double Beach Rd., Branford, CT 06405.

We don't know if she would have changed the hospice donation to Alzheimer's in honor of my dad, so we left it as is; the assumption is that she was thinking of my grandpa (who died of cancer and hospice came to the house and helped care for him as he died)--she designed her obituary in 1997.  Honestly, make a donation to either if you wish, they both do good things for sick people.
Tomorrow at this time we'll be at the restaurant eating and remembering Grandma and it will all be over.

Walk to End Alzheimer's pics

The Walk to End Alzheimer's was this morning, at Lighthouse Park in New Haven, which is on the beach and has an indoor carousel.

i

The four flowers from my team.  The colors got confused somehow, my friend's shouldn't have been yellow which is caretaker but they told us yellow was supporter. 

My hubby with his Alzheimer's shirt on.

My mom with her Alzheimer's shirt on.

I found this cool rock on the beach with a cross on it.  I'm not Catholic but my dad was so I kept it.

Me with some of our flowers.

Part of the Memory Garden.  Blue was for people who had Alzheimer's.

Starting line.

3 memory flowers for my dad, planted in my yard.  They are fun, they spin like pinwheels.

I raised, between my tag sale and Facebook, almost $400 for the walk (and they gave me 4 t-shirts, even though it's $100 per shirt).  It was very crowded.  The day started out rainy and horrible but by the time we got there, it was gorgeous and they said it was the biggest turnout ever.  When I tagged my pictures on Facebook with Lighthouse Park, it said 1077 people were checked in there--and I didn't use FB check-in there (I used FourSquare) and neither did anyone with me. I'd say over 2,000 people.

In the paper again, for this weekend's Walk to End Alzheimer's

I was interviewed yesterday about the Alzheimer's walk this weekend. Last weekend, I had another tag sale (mostly books and jewelry supplies) and raised another $120 (miserable rainy weather) for my team, adding to the $200 or so donated through Facebook friends.

---

OCR article text
Daughter raises funds for Alzheimer’s work
By Russell Blair, Record-Journal staff
WALLINGFORD
Roberta Piedmont managed to raise more than $1,000 on her own this year for Alzheimer’s research.
What if more people pitched in to help eradicate the disease, she wonders.
“I had a friend tell me ‘with enough shovels, you can move a mountain,” she said.
A year of fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association will culminate for Piedmont this weekend when she takes part in the Walk to End Alzheimer's in New Haven on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to it. It's a chance to meet other people and talk and share stories,” she said. Piedmont’s team includes her mother, her husband and some friends. Piedmont said that while many people know of Alzheimer’s, only those who have seen its effects understand the severity of the disease.
“When I tell somebody, they either look at me with a blank look on [their] face, or their own story comes out,” she said.
Piedmont’s father, Bob Rizza, worked for more than 30 years in the car business in Meriden and Wallingford before he had to retire at age 62 due to the beginning stages of the disease. He was diagnosed a year later, on June 21, 2004, and died on Nov. 26, 2007.
Piedmont has also advertised the walk on her popular Alzheimer’s blog, “Had a Dad.” Piedmont’s blog is the No. 1 result on Google for the search of “Alzheimer's blog,” above the Mayo Clinic's blog and a blog maintained by the Alzheimer’s Association. Piedmont's team name for the walk is the web address to her blog: Alzheimersdad.blogspot.com. Piedmont said her own fundraising is an example that every individual can do something to help.
Christy Kovel, senior director of communications for the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the walk is the biggest annual fundraiser for the chapter.
“It’s our signature event,” she said. “We’re expecting a very large turnout.”
Last year, the organization had more than 3,500 walkers in events across the state.
“All kinds of people come,” Kovel said. “We get people who lost family members to the disease, people who are suffering from the disease, those who bring their loved ones who have the disease and people who work at facilities that provide care for Alzheimer’s. There are children’s activities; it’s really a family-friendly atmosphere.”
According to data from the Alzheimer’s Association, 5.4 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and someone develops the disease every 69 seconds. The organization estimates that by 2050, as many as 16 million people will have Alzheimer’s. In Connecticut, 764 people died from the disease in 2007.
Piedmont said that it’s important to raise awareness about the disease, and the effects it can have. The recent diagnosis of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summit with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, has helped bring new attention to the disease, she said.
“Lately more people have been telling me their own stories. This is a disease that touches almost everybody,” Piedmont said.
The Sunday walk will take place at Lighthouse Point Park, 2 Lighthouse Point Road, New Haven. Walkers can register online at www.alz.org or in-person Sunday at 9 a.m.
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

---

if you would like to donate to my team please click below or in the sidebar.

Alzheimer's and Dementia Clinicial Studies--Pay it Forward

A friend of mine sent me a link about Alzheimer's recently, and I was surprised--shocked--horrified--to read that new drugs and other treatments can't find enough volunteers.   I can't believe that.  We would have signed a deal with the devil himself if he had agreed to give my dad a drug that would have given him a chance at a longer, healthier life.
I don't know how most of these trials work, but I know that the one my dad was part of did NOT make him STOP taking his medicine, it only added new medicine.  And when we found out at the end that he was on the placebo, he received the real drug then.
The Alzheimer's Association now has a web page that helps match volunteers with clinical trials.  I'm lucky enough to live near New Haven and to have had access to Yale University for my dad's studies, but if you don't live around here that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.   There are even trials to sign up for healthy people who don't have AD--I added myself to their data bank.
Being in a clinical trial is about paying it forward.  I knew that the drug would probably not help my dad.  But down the line, it might have saved someone else from my family's pain.
image source
I am still accepting donations for my Walk to End Alzheimer's team--the walk is October 2, 2011.  If you are not already doing the walk and haven't donated to anyone, I'd appreciate anything.  This is my first year having a team and I'd love to show up with a lot of money to prove you don't have to be a corporation to raise funds. Click the to the left (or in my sidebar) to donate.

Virtual Candlelight vigil/rally for Alzheimer's

You can light a virtual candle for a loved one with Alzheimer's for free (or with a small donation...come on, make a small donation) at the Alzheimer's Association website.
My dad's candle is here.  It says, "Miss you, Dad.  Enjoy the Elsewhere Bar and be kind to the Newbies."

From the site:

On the evening of March 7, 2010, advocates will gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, share their stories and light candles in honor of loved ones. This moving ceremony is part of the Alzheimer's Association annual Alzheimer's Action Summit. Show your support by lighting a virtual candle now and becoming an Alzheimer's champion. You will be able to write a personal message that will appear on this site.

If you are on FACEBOOK, the Alzheimer's Association is asking you to put this as your status:

More than 5,000,000 people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s disease. If you have been touched by this disease or know someone who has, please post this as your status and use your VOICE in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

Climbing for Alzheimer's

Mark Zimmer contacted me and asked me to publicize his Climbing for Alzheimer's charity climbing.
He writes:

---

Thanks so much for your willingness to post this; the more people that know about these climbs, the more good my efforts will do. If you are interested, we have a group on Facebook that you can join. Search "Summit Up" and we are number 1.

My name is Mark Zimmer, and I am a 23 year old from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I recently began an effort with the Alzheimer's Association to climb the highest elevation in each of the 50 states to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's first touched me when I was young and my great-grandmother passed away from it. I still see the effects of it daily, as my grandfather is towards the end of his fight with this terrible disease. Knowing how Alzheimer's has affected my family, and so many other families across the country, I wanted to use my climbs for something more than personal satisfaction.

It is my goal to climb the highest peak in a state every month. Having just gotten underway in April, my climbs will last until May 2013. I am raising money by attracting corporate sponsors to have me carry a flag representing them. We are also are accepting personal donations. If you are interested in supporting our efforts to raise awareness, you can make a donation here. For a donation of $9.99 or more, we will send you a picture from each of the 50 state peaks, thanking you for your support. It is a great way to learn about the varying state highpoints, keep up on our climbs, and support our effort to raise money for a cure.

I think we all know of someone who has had to fight with Alzheimer's, and it is horrible. Let's work to make a difference while we all still can. Remember, we're all climbers!

Mark Zimmer
Summit Up
www.SummitUpUSA.com