Parkinson Social NetworkCaregivers, 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’s Trials & Studies, Cycling, and the Health Care Journey
The photo above is from Parkinson’s South Australia’s 2018 art exhibition, Perspectives. Aren’t the colors in the scarves and jewelry lovely?
Cafe Ashburn – Wednesday, September 26
At our Ashburn cafe this week one of the things we talked about was the Nilotinib trials and how hopeful we are for positive results. I was supposed to send you information about a website called PD Trials because it was a good place to find out information about all kinds of trials related to Parkinson’s. However, the website isn’t what it was. It looks like someone else is writing about Parkinson’s but from a different perspective. The major U.S. Parkinson foundations that are committed to research have information about their trials on their websites and are also looking for volunteers. I looked for a website that encompasses all the trials and found a government website – ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/) that you might want to look into. It “is a database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies conducted around the world.”
George Mason Study
We also talked about the George Mason research study examining movement efficiency and fatigability in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease. We’ve shared information about this study in previous emails and on our website, so If you’d like more information about this new study, please contact:
Mutasim D. Alharbi, Doctoral Student
Department of Rehabilitation Science, College of Health and Human Services
George Mason University
E-mail: malharb4@masonlive.gmu.edu | Phone: 703-479-8505
Parkinson’s Cycling Class
Krista is organizing a Parkinson’s Cycling Class at her location in Vienna and we’re passing on a message from her about her class. If you’re interested, could you please contact her at krista@cyclechi.com?
The Parkinson’s Cycling Program is an indoor cycling class where individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease work in a group setting coached by a certified Parkinson’s Cycle Coach. Cycling has shown to help in symptom management of the disease, provide a supportive group environment and help increase aerobic capacity and leg strength in riders over time.
The class is 60 minutes long with the ride length being 40 minutes with 20 minutes of time for stretching and socializing afterwards. Each participant will be asked to wear a heart rate monitor of their own or can rent or purchase one from the studio.
Participants will be required to complete an assessment with the certified Parkinson’s coach prior to being enrolled in this class and complete a health questionnaire and Medical Clearance Form before beginning the program.
In health,
Krista
krista@cyclechi.com
Stay Happy, Feed Your Chi!
For those of you in and around Alexandria . . .
Taking the Health Care Journey: What You Need to Know.
Senior Services of Alexandria and Inova have teamed up to share information which will assist older adults in planning ahead to insure a better hospital stay, and a smooth transition after discharge! Join with representatives from Inova, SSA and local private service providers who will help you solve the puzzle that surrounds a hospitalization and the many options available afterwards.
This free event will be held on Friday, October 19 from 9:30 am – noon at Beatley Central Library, 5005 Duke Street. A light breakfast will be served.
Make reservations online at www.wseniorservicesalex.org or call 703.836.4414 ext. 110.
I hope you’ve found the information in this email helpful and I’ll see you out and about soon!
Cheers,
Sonia
email: Sonia@ParkinsonSocialNetwork.org
Parkinson Social Network 