By Ann Campanella
For the second year in a row, AlzAuthors was invited to participate in the Dementia Education Conference in Charlotte hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association-Western Carolina Chapter. Six AlzAuthors gathered in one location to support caregivers and share their stories.
Our Traveling Library with over 100 books donated from AlzAuthors around the country and as far away as Australia was a highlight of the conference. Throughout the day and in between breakout sessions, attendees made up of caregivers, industry professionals, people living with Alzheimer’ and the general public perused the book table and were given information about our website and how to purchase copies of AlzAuthors books on Amazon.
AlzAuthors Anne Balcom and Richard Creighton presented a Blogging Panel where they shared the history behind their own blogs. Balcom lost her mother to Alzheimer’s in 2012 and used her blog as an outlet for her emotions. She eventually turned her blog, The Blue Velvet Drape: Dealing with Dementia, into a book with the same title. Creighton, who is a current caregiver to his wife, writes the blog, Living with Alzheimer’s. He shares the daily experience of living with a spouse who has dementia, and his posts provide a road map for compassionate caregiving.
Barbara Ivey, the author of Patterns in Time, a booklet which provides a timeline for the Alzheimer’s experience, conducted a workshop called “Siblings Surviving Alzheimer’s.” In addition, Malia Kline, author of Sisterly Shove, Senia Owensby, author of Finishing Well: Finding the Joy in Dementia, and Ann Campanella, author of Motherhood: Lost and Found and a manager and director of AlzAuthors, joined Balcom and Ivey, offering books for sale and sharing information about the AlzAuthors Traveling Library. After lunch, AlzAuthors held a raffle where they gave away dozens of books to caregivers and conference attendees.
Enjoy the photos below from this special day. Thank you again to all the AlzAuthors who donated their books to the Traveling Library and for giveaways. And a huge thanks to the Alzheimer’s Association-Western Carolina Chapter for partnering with us!
Here are some of the lucky winners (if you don’t see your donated book, a few of our winners left before we could catch them for a photo. Please rest assured, all the winners were thrilled to win one of the books!).
2 Responses
How “ close” are these two ( Alzheimer’s and dementia) and how can you determine what the person is most ‘ likely’ to have?—- what makes these people ( I have known a few) get so upset about taking a bath or just get a shower , each day ?? And the “ constant”. plundering through trash, dresser drawers , closets ??? Pacing ?
Dear Barbara, Thanks for your comment. Dementia is the name for a group of diseases that affect the brain – there are several types and Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia. A trained physician is the best person to determine diagnosis. For more insight and answers to your questions, please refer to our Online Resources list. In particular, some of the online Caregiver Guides may be of help to you. Thank you.