Dementia

...ba href=/dementia/a/b at the time, told her after the incident that, "'I don't like him doing this test ...

He puts that thing inside me, and I don't like it.'" The victim, whose ba href=/dementia/a/b has advanced since 2003, did not testify at the trial.

Both attorneys apologized to the jury during closing arguments for the sometimes lurid testimony about the incident.

Defense attorney John Bosk of Fitchburg said in his closing argument that the prosecution had no proof a crime had been committed.

"(Police found) no pubic hair, no blood, no DNA," Bosk said.

"You don't have any physical evidence that a crime occurred.

There's been no evidence submitted that he indecently touched (the victim)." Bosk said the victim's statements testified to by the nursing supervisor were unclear, and the victim never specifically named Figueroa.

"You have a case of he said, she said, and she isn't here," Bosk said.

Bosk also said the investigating officer, Ryan Malatos, did not run a proper inquiry and fabricated Figueroa's confession.

"Officer Malatos said he didn't ask (Figueroa) a single thing before taking him to the police station," Bosk said.

"Their investigation was over." Assistant District Attorney Anthony J.

Marotta admitted jurors may doubt individual pieces of evidence, but that each element had to be examined "in light of everything else." "Yeah, we know (the victim) had mild ba href=/dementia/a/b.

Does that mean she doesn't have lucid moments?

" Marotta asked the jury.

"They'll have you believe she hasn't had...

...ba href=/dementia/a/b as she attended a recent Alzheimer's Support Group meeting.“I don't know why I'm alive.

I can't do anything.

I'm useless.” These words were spoken by the woman's husband, who has been claimed by Alzheimer's disease.

The first comment indicates the concern that caregivers and spouses have when it comes to those they love and watch over.The second is indicative of the frustration felt by those who those who have fallen victim to the insidious condition.But caregivers, spouses, family and friends all feel the effects of the not-so-discriminating disease.

And the statements could just as easily have come from an individual with Alzheimer's and ba href=/dementia/a/b, as they could from one who cares about them; because Alzheimer's ultimately takes its toll on everyone - people who give until they feel they have nothing left and those who receive but may not remember why.And so, for a couple of hours each month, a small group gathers in solidarity.

Those who were once strangers, find support for what they all have in common.

Though their backgrounds are diverse, they have come together finding shelter from the storm of Alzheimer's disease, the malady that affects their loved ones and impacts their lives.

Slowly, in mid-March, surrounded by St.

Patrick's Day Irish blessings and refreshments, the stories emerge.

No two are the same.

Questions arise.

Concerns are voiced.

Suggestions are offered.

What works for one, may work for another.

Just knowing there's a safe haven t...

...ba href=/dementia/a/b.Mrs Legg has spent the past 10 years working as a volunteer at Rebecca House in North Walsham, where her daughter Maureen Ringwood is deputy manager.

Her hours of service, sometimes starting as early as 7am to carry tasks such as washing-up and feeding patients, prompted Mrs Ringwood to enter her mother into the Evening News/SCS sofa competition to find a deserving mum for Mother's Day.Our judges were impressed with Mrs Legg's hours of unpaid work at the care unit for people with mental health problems, so they named her as the winner of the £1,000 prize to spend on the sofa of her choice.Mrs Legg, who lives in South Park Avenue, Norwich, and her daughter, who lives just a few miles away from her in Marlpit Lane, visited the SCS showroom on the Sprowston Retail Park yesterday to receive the prize.Mrs Legg said the fact she had won had yet to sink in.

She started working as a volunteer at Rebecca House a couple of years after the death of her husband Harry in 1993.

"Maureen said they needed volunteers so I came and I've been here ever since.

I do a little bit of everything - I help in the kitchen, I help to feed the patients, little things like that.

I enjoy doing it."Mrs Ringwood, 58, said: "I entered her for the competition because firstly, she's my mum and I feel she does such good work really for no money."She added that as well as cleaning and tidying, her mother was also an emotional support to patients and staff.

"She'll sit with the patients and have little c...