Please Remember Me: Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease Patients on the Internet
In my six years on the Internet since my mother's death, I've met not only many wonderful family caregivers and health care professionals who are seeking to educate and offer support online, but I've also met early-onset Alzheimer's patients who are telling their stories as well. These people are in their forties and fifties, and they are some of the most inspiring people I've ever met.
The first one I met was Diana Friel McGowin whose Web page was at: http://hometown.aol.com/LILAUTHOR1/index... (Unfortunately, AOL has lost Diana's files for the second time; She put them back once, but the last time it happened, she said she was just too tired to start again.) Diana is the author of the best-selling book, Living in the Labyrinth, which has been published in eleven languages. The CBS film, Forget Me Never, starring Mia Farrow and Martin Sheen, released 1999, was based on Diana's life. She has been featured in People Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, and numerous national and international television and radio interviews as well as periodicals and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad. She spearheaded the first in-person Early Onset patient support group under sponsorship of her local Alzheimer Association chapter, and she was a pioneer online as LILAUTHOR1, leading an AOL chat group for those with early-onset AD. Diana is the inspiration for many who have followed, sharing their stories and offering information and support.
I met Tim Brennan soon after meeting Diana, and he allowed me to post several of his poems in the contributed poetry section at my Web site. Now Tim has a site of his own at http://www.nhisgarden.com/his_eyes/entra... Tim, age 57, formerly designed, installed and resolved problems with computers, information processing, telephone networks, and video conferencing, and worked for a major bank for 25 years. When he had a heart attack in 1992, and through medical examinations following that, it was discovered that he had some type of dementia, and then in 1993, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Since his diagnosis, he has written a column for The St. Petersburg Times (Florida), and articles for Duke University, The University of California (San Diego), and some Alzheimer's Association chapters, as well as speaking, and with his wife, beginning a local support group for early stage Alzheimer's patients. Webmaster Nancy Walker of Caregiver's Haven, has designed a beautiful site, and Tim's articles offer practical suggestions about living positively as someone with Alzheimer's, and his beautiful poetry gives us all clearer insight into the life of an Alzheimer's patient.
Latest Articles