Dementia

...ba href=/dementia/a/b.

But then I followed Dad and his nonsequiturs and saw the places where he was once alive and productive — a landscape completely different from the barren moon he once described to me.

Vayikra — and God called.

For Dad, the equivalent of God calling to him was hearing his mother's name again.

I believe that it gave him much solace to hear her name, to feel that his mother Anna was with him.

When Dad died, I thought God had abandoned me.

And calling out to God felt like a betrayal of everything Dad had suffered.

I said Kaddish because I didn't know what else to do with my anger and grief.

Judaism gave me a guide and, though it felt counterintuitive, I followed it.

I reluctantly rearranged my life for a year of the Kaddish.

Maybe that's the form of faith God gives to the bereaved.

I called out to God, regardless of my mood or the season.

And then midway through my year of mourning, I realized that God had been gently calling out to me.

Like Dad, God was subtle.

God knew that I needed a visual God.

And so my memory of Dad became more merciful with each passing day.

As the year progressed, Dad grew younger and healthier in my mind's eye.

He was once again stocky and robust in his bulky raincoat and deerstalker hat.

He shoveled the front steps and drove at the speed limit.

He rallied at the kitchen table and declared, "This is a delicious dinner, Mother," when it clearly was not.

He read door-stopping James Michener novels into the late evening seated at the ...

...ba href=/dementia/a/b five years ago and Mrs Larven is desperately seeking a local support group for carers.

Ruth needs helping hand Angela Haber Thursday, 30 March 2006 RUTH Larven is a loving and committed wife to husband John, but caring for somebody who has ba href=/dementia/a/b can be challenging and Mrs Larven is the first to admit she needs help.

The Richmond couple have lived with the effects of Mr Larven's ba href=/dementia/a/b since he was diagnosed five years ago, but Mrs Larven said the lack of support services for carers of ba href=/dementia/a/b sufferers living in the Hawkesbury had forced her to travel elsewhere for support.

"It's most important for us to have somebody to turn to in this area, but there's just nothing here for us," Mrs Larven said.

"What I desperately need is a support group for carers in the Hawkesbury." Mrs Larven said a local support group would allow participants to discuss the issues that arise for carers of ba href=/dementia/a/b sufferers in an empathetic and understanding environment.

"Having the support of other people who know what it's like to feel frustration and anger, and then struggle with guilt because of it, is invaluable," she said.

"John's ba href=/dementia/a/b was a result of heart bypass surgery he had five years ago, and it completely changed our lives.

"He lost his job, and now I feel as though a time will come when his body will be there, but without spirit." Thankfully for the Larvens and other local ba href=/dementia/a/b sufferers, the Nepean ba href=/dementia/a/b Advisory Service has recognised the nee...

...ba href=/dementia/a/b-common symptoms of Parkinson disease that often are left untreated," he said.

For example, the guidelines clarify that levodopa is actually a safe and effective treatment for Parkinson's, rather than a risky drug that might speed up the disease's symptoms, as some have feared.

The guidelines also recommend regular exercise and physical and speech therapy as a way to minimize symptoms.

AAN noted that Parkinson's disease is misdiagnosed in about five to ten percent of all cases.

The guidelines will be released at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif.

next month.

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