What A Week It Was!

On Tuesday, I joined just about every neurologist in the country for a luncheon honoring Leeza Gibbons.  Leeza received the 2005 Public Leadership in Neurology Award during the American Academy of Neurology's 57th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach.  Leeza took the opportunity to paint an extremely moving image of the lives of the patients and families that these physicians see on a daily basis. The extended standing ovation proves that the message was received loud and clear.

On Saturday, we hosted our seventh annual Fort Lauderdale Fearless Caregiver Conference and I was honored to be joined by a special education teacher with a degree from UNC-CH. And I hear he sings a little bit too, Mr. Clay Aiken.  A short delay in his arrival worried everyone who knows me that I might have had to sing to fill the time, which would certainly have not been good for anyone within earshot. Anybody who wondered what message Clay could possibly have had to share with our audience of 600 caregivers was convinced of his passion and knowledge after he spoke and exited to a well-deserved standing ovation. We presented the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award to him, which is not given often or lightly.   That evening we hosted the first Florida Voices for Change Gala to benefit the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which according to the Foundation’s executive director “had more positive energy than she had ever seen in a room”.

Our Question and Answer panel during the Fearless Caregiver conference was exceptional, and I think we could have extended that session for another two hours and not answered all of the questions from the attendees. The topics ranged from technology to eye care and health insurance, depression and stress management and of course, legal issues.  We actually never got to the grand stopper of them all – the questions on senior driving.   

We learned from Lisa VanDyke from Walgreens during our “Ask the Pharmacist” session that another member of any Fearless Caregiver’s professional care team must be the pharmacist.

You would think we would be dragging around here, but the conference was so incredibly energizing, as the questions and answers spun across the hall, that we are even more motivated than ever to take our show on the road. We look forward to seeing you in our next two stops, in Los Angeles (June 28), and Philadelphia (July 27).     “On the Road Again….”  

Sincerely,

Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
 

Dates are still available for the 2005 Fearless Caregiver Conference Tour.  Bring a conference to your community. Contact us for more information.

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Carenotes
Hello, I'm new to this web-site. My mom was in a car accident 11 years ago, she has suffered from frontal lobe damage, severe vestibular damage and lumbar damage. I suppose the list could go on and on, but those were the main problems. The vestibular problems led to over two years of solid bed-rest plus two surgeries. After ten years we thought she was finally getting on her feet when she slipped and fell during an ice storm. She had an underlying problem in her lumbar spine which required a fusion and a laminectomy. Her surgery was a year ago. After 11 years of suffering she is almost to the point of giving up. I've had her in therapy for 5 years now, but since this last surgery she is afraid of everything. I've gone through every trick in the book, but I can't seem to help her with this. I'm on the verge of burn-out. Does this sound familiar to anybody else? And how have you helped your loved one with the overwhelming fear? HELP! Thanks, K   Answer This Week's CareNote: carenotes/2005/index.htm
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