Parkinson Social NetworkFamiliar Faces Out & About
I don’t have much to tell you about events I’ve been to this week, but there are lots of things happening! We’re busy planning our family caregiver appreciation lunch on November 10 (click here for details) and educational presentations (see below). And as always, if you’re looking for event information from previous newsletters, you’ll find them on our Community Events page.
Tomorrow, Saturday, October 13th is National Indie Author Day!
Saturday, October 13 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Celebrate independent authors and their work at your participating local library! Authors of all of genres are expected so, check your local library for the details and times.
In our area the Pohick Library (6450 Sydenstricker Rd, Burke) has graciously invited local authors Angela and Karl Robb to represent their books about Parkinson’s. If you are in the area and want to meet them or purchase a signed book, please stop by to see them.
Karl has been living with Parkinson’s for more than 30 years and together with his wife, Angela, is an upbeat and inspiring author and speaker. More information about their books on Karl’s blog and website, A Soft Voice in a Noisy World. Click here for more information.
Spend the day with other caregivers and come away with heaps of information!
Caregiver Bootcamp
Saturday, October 27, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
At: Insight Memory Care Center
3955 Pender Drive, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22030
We know it can be hard
as a busy caregiver to find all the information you need to best care for your loved one with dementia. Insight offers the Caregiver Bootcamp to help you learn more about essential caregiving topics, all in one place! Come and learn from experts in their fields and gain knowledge on the basics you need to know as a caregiver.
Sessions include:
Dementia Overview & Research with Dr. James Bicksel, INOVA Memory Center: Re:Cognition Health;
Financial Planning with Tom West, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors;
When Talking Isn’t Working with Toni Reinhart, Dementia Friendly America – Herndon and Comfort Keepers; and
Community Resources with Carrie Brill, Fairfax Area Agency on Aging.
A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge! Thanks to Arden Courts of Annandale and Fair Oaks, and Dementia Care Connections for sponsoring our breakfast and lunch.
RSVP: Register online, or contact Lindsey Vajpeyi at 703-204-4664 or lindsey.vajpeyi@insightmcc.org.
I am the speaker for this event!
Donuts and Other Things You Might Not Know About Parkinson’s
Monday, October 29, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
At: Tall Oaks Assisted Living
12052 North Shore Drive, Reston, VA 20190
When researching information about Parkinson’s disease, the results are fairly similar, focusing on a few symptoms and medical treatments, but as we quickly learn, there is so much more to this complex disease. Based on what I’ve learned from my friends living with Parkinson’s, I’ll provide a unique perspective of what life with Parkinson’s is like. I hope to show the human side of Parkinson’s for people who are unfamiliar with the disease.
Free and open to the public. Donuts and refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP to 703-834-9800 or RSVP@TallOaksAL.com
Hoping to see you out and about soon! Two cafes next week – Alexandria and Fairfax. Will we see you at one or both? Click here for details.
Cheers,
Sonia
email: Sonia@ParkinsonSocialNetwork.org
Caregivers, Congratulations and Community Events
Caregivers are very much on my mind this month. November is traditionally National Family Caregiver Month, but because November is also the start of The Holiday Season, when people are so busy, I thought we’d start early in order to give our family caregivers the recognition they deserve.
Caring for our Caregivers
In addition to talking about caring at our cafes, we’re organizing an appreciation lunch for the family caregivers in our Parkinson community on
Saturday, November 10, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm.
Insight Memory Care Center has once again kindly offered their space to us, and 5 Star Home Health Care are providing refreshments and other goodies. Family caregivers male and female, past and present, are all welcome. Along with lunch we’ll have an engaging discussion with a panel of caregivers, door prizes, and other free gifties. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet new friends and catch up with old ones.
Seats are limited, so please register soon! We are also offering respite care (activities and lunch) in the room next door to the caregiver event, also with limited seats, and it would be a great help if you could register soon for respite care as well.
Click here to register!
Congratulations to Insight Memory Care Center’s Executive Director, Christi Clark!
Christi is the recipient of the 2018 Ruth Von Behren Award of the National Adult Day Services Association that recognizes her personal achievements and commitment to the field. Christi’s encouragement and support helped us turn our dream of cafes for the Parkinson’s community into a reality, and many of us are grateful for her kindness to us on a personal level as well. Thank you for all you do, Christi!
Here are some events and web events happening this month that might be of interest to you . . .
Learning and Living for Safer Generations
Saturday, October 13, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm
At: Inova Fairfax Medical Campus,
Physicians Conference Center, Lower Level
330 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042
Program includes Grandparenting 101 and Be Falls-Free at Home and in the Community. Click here for more information.
Saturday, October 13. Livestreamed at 11:30 am
Free webinar offered by the Parkinson’s Voice Project
Impulse control behaviours are a common side effect of dopaminergic medication in Parkinson’s, characterized by their reward-based, repetitive natures and include pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive shopping, binge-eating, and others. These impulsive behaviours can cause significant psychological, social, and even financial harm to both patients themselves and those close to them but have also been linked to productive characteristics such as creativity. Click here for more information and to register.
Caregivers’ Search for Meaning
Thursday, October 18, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
(The webinar also will be recorded for viewing later)
by Janet Edmunson, M.Ed. For family and professional caregivers
Webinar will be approximately 30-40 minutes in length and will also will be recorded for viewing later. Register online today by clicking: https://tinyurl.com/caregiversearchformeaning
Webinar Description: Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, discovered that he could find meaning in the most miserable of conditions—in a concentration camp. This webinar will unearth what can we learn from his experiences that can help us with ours as caregivers. We’ll delve into how to explore meaning in our caregiver situations…no matter how difficult and sad they are. We’ll see how the search for meaning can buoy us up, even in the darkest times. And we’ll go beyond just the theory to reveal actual practical ways we can discover this meaning.
Safe Driving as You Age
Tuesday, October 23 from 10:00 am – 2:30 pm
At: Reston Community Center Hunter Woods
2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston
A FREE safe driving workshop featuring speakers, an exhibitor fair and lunch. Learn how to improve your health and well-being on and off the road. Explore safe and reliable transportation alternatives when it is time to hang up the keys.
Click here for more information.
Hoping to see you out and about soon! How about Cafe McLean next Wednesday?
Click here for more details . . .
Cheers,
Sonia
email: Sonia@ParkinsonSocialNetwork.org
Parkinson Social Network 