This week, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the 19th annual Broward Alzheimer’s Coordinating Council conference. This was an important day for me for a few reasons. First, it is always a great day when I am with caregivers, but in particular, there were people in this room that had been there for me and my family when we started caring for our loved ones back in the early nineties.  One of these caring professionals was Monica Dunkley, the loving administrator from my grandfather’s Adult Day Care facility, who I talk about in the story Okay We Go Now.    Another was Elaine Schumacher, the first person I told about my notion that caregivers needed and deserved a magazine, who had been immediately gung-ho on the idea from the very beginning and is still a close friend and advisor.   

Then there were the other experts in the room – the family caregivers, who each held another piece to the puzzle of what it takes to provide the best care for our loved ones and ourselves.  When the conversation came around to the things we do to help ourselves cope, the answers were flying around the room. One gentleman who is caregiving for his wife discovered a life-changing solution for self-care.  He has started to go to weekly adult education classes for art, a subject that has always intrigued him, and in the process, discovered a talent and passion that he didn’t know he possessed.  This burgeoning Picasso has found out that he is actually darn good at it and that painting has significantly reduced his stress level as well as helped him with his ability to concentrate. He is still a full time caregiver for his wife, but Tuesday nights belong to him.  Now that’s true artistry.

 

 

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