Posted 9-24-19
Today we celebrate our 300th post at the Digital Cornbread table! There is so much to say and such little time on this blog. Sigh… I mainly want to say thank you to each and every one of you! Without each of your encouragement, topic ideas, love, examples, support and the rest, I would have thrown my hands up long ago and sat in the corner surfing cat memes. Instead the audience has grown and continues to grow daily and it has made my comparatively minor life challenge much more manageable knowing that I can teach, laugh, and cry with hundreds of daily readers. We now have over 5200 subscribers, over 520 likes in FB, and untold numbers on Twitter and Instagram. Thank you. Really, thank you! 🙂
The rest of the week I will continue on a dear subject to me: the recap of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Springfield. There is much we can learn from the events of that day, even as I prepare for the Bolivar walk this Saturday. Every event, every fundraiser, every time sitting with a patient, every time I study a medical journal…they all have their own distinct personality in my odd little brain, and I look forward to seeing what the next few hundred posts hold, although I would prefer to have a cure today that would wipe this hot mess off of the internet. I can talk about generational differences, seniors in general, baseball, the way things used to be, or something…no worries. 😉
One bit of formal note if you live in the Ozarks: A wonderful lady named Stacey and I will be starting an evening Alzheimer’s support group the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the SeniorAge Headquarters located at 1735 S Fort Ave, Springfield, Mo. 65807 starting October 15th. It will run from 6-7:30pm and will begin with a brief topical lesson, then a traditional support group format the rest of the time. It will be a come-and-go situation too, so if you can only catch part, that is fine. It will be free and we are considering offering some form of box supper for a optional donation if it seems like that would be helpful…but we can discuss that at the first meeting 3 weeks from today. If we don’t offer a meal, we will have some form of snacks since we cover dinner time. The group will be open to people of all experiences with the disease or even those with no connection who just want to know more. You can talk, or just listen…no pressure! We will all agree to keep what we discuss completely confidential among us. I look so forward to this time monthly to share and grow with another group. Call or text me at 417-955-2513 or email me at mark.applegate@senioragemo.org to discuss and get registration details.
If our group isn’t convenient or your cup of tea, I would highly recommend the Willard Forget-Me-Not group who meets at First Baptist Church of Willard the 1st Tuesday of the month at the same time as our’s (6-7:30pm). Contact Carol Bourbina at her email cbourbin@yahoo.com, find her or the group on Facebook, or email me here and I can forward your info to her. She has a wonderful group that has been meeting for years, and I will continue going to it when I can. There is also a newly-formed 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening group in North Springfield at North Point Church (call Pam Tate at 417-459-7310 for details) . Support is hard to find sometimes, but as awareness becomes more widespread hopefully support groups will continue to pop up in an area near you. Here is a current list (our’s will be on here soon).
Sigh… until we can beat this thing, we have to stick together and support each other. Thank you sooooo much for visiting this little blog. Please keep forwarding articles (and sharing on Facebook) to those who need to hear it. I appreciate you so much!
#EndALZ
Update: Mom was in great spirits yesterday. We goofed off, held hands and watched some Andy Griffith over supper. I am so thankful for this last couple months of easier times with mom. I so wish it was “getting easier” because of a cure or even a better treatment. But, we take each day one day at a time… Mrs. B, the Sweet 17 damsel in distress, did indeed pass away last week. She had struggled for much of the nearly a year mom was in the memory ward and was a believer in Christ, so I am comfortable knowing that this sweet woman is in the presence and care of her Lord as we speak. I hate losing friends and practically family like this! We have to find a cure, and quick!!! Until then, you know the drill…we serve, we advocate, we hug necks, we give, and we love.