What it’s like to lose both parents to Alzheimer’s disease
Shelley Moench-Kelly’s parents made it to their 50th wedding anniversary. Then, one after the other, five years apart, they died from Alzheimer’s. Their experiences with the disease were different, but her process of saying goodbye was the same.
Anna Cianciolo’s Meatballs for Memory Longest Day
The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. In this article, we feature one of our Longest Day participants, Anna Cianciolo.
The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. Teams are encouraged to create their own experience as they fundraise and participate in an activity they love to honor someone facing the disease. In this article, we feature one of our Longest Day participants, Anna Cianciolo.
My name is Anna Cianciolo, I’m 42 years old and an associate professor of medical education at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. I grew up in Bloomfield Hills, MI, with three brothers and a large extended family. When I am not working, I enjoy Crossfit, cooking, reading, traveling, hiking, and puttering in my yard. I share a household with my boyfriend, Tom, his 12-year-old son, Gryphon, and my orange tabby cat, Jonesy.
How did you come to be involved with the The Longest Day?
My dad, Tom, has Alzheimer’s disease. He started showing mild cognitive impairment in his mid-60’s. His two older siblings died from Alzheimer’s, and his younger sister is now showing signs of cognitive decline too. My dad has two copies of the ApoE-4 allele, so my siblings and I know we are genetically at risk for Alzheimer’s. I signed up for informational newsletters from the Alzheimer’s Association in order to learn more about my dad’s condition. I wanted to know what was in store for him and for my family as the disease progressed. I learned about the Longest Day event from those newsletters. I learned about the Alzheimer’s Association from attending a Memory Loss conference at my medical school, hosted by our Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, whose existence is currently threatened by lack of state funding.
What activities will you do for the The Longest Day?
This year’s Longest Day event is my first. I will be hosting a pop-up Italian restaurant, Mama Anna’s Italian Kitchen. The event is called Meatballs for Memory. I will be serving all-you-can-eat spaghetti and meatballs out of my home on Saturday, June 18. So far, I have raised over $800, about halfway to my goal of $1600.
Why is The Longest day important to you?
I think the biggest barrier to beating Alzheimer’s is the fact that it has received little serious attention until recently. I believe that raising awareness about this disease and funding associated research are critical first steps to reducing the staggering toll Alzheimer’s takes on people’s lives. Personally, the Alzheimer’s Association has been an incredibly valuable resource for being an informed citizen as well as a sensitive caregiver and family member. I want to give back to an organization that has made my life better and to help it make a difference in other people’s lives as well.
Why should others participate in The Longest Day?
Alzheimer’s really is a societal problem. Regardless of whether a person can immediately name someone they know with Alzheimer’s; the fact is their life will be affected by the disease. This is especially true as the US population ages. Participating in the Longest Day and supporting the Alzheimer’s Association is something we all can do to invest in our future.
Growing evidence shows smart dietary choices may help protect the brain
More than 100 million adults worldwide may develop Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia by mid-century. A number of foods, and overall diets, have been associated in studies with a lower risk for dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association believes a healthy and balanced diet that is higher in vegetables and fruit, and lower in fat and processed foods, can help reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
Running with Scissors: Surprising Barriers to Making Healthy Choices for Lifelong Vitality
Presenter: Kay Van Norman
Wednesday, May 25
11:00 AM (PST); 2:00 PM (EST)
The Society of Certified Senior Advisors® invites you to join Kay Van Norman, an internationally known author, speaker, and consultant with almost 30 years of experience in healthy aging, as she discusses hidden barriers to healthy lifestyles among older adults, explores the common gap between intentions for aging well and the actions necessary to support well-being, as well as challenging participants to examine their personal intentions versus actions around healthy aging.
5/25/2016
When:
5/25/2016
11:00 AM (PST); 12:00 Noon (MST); 2:00 PM (EST)
Where:
United States
Presenter:
Kay Van Norman
Contact:
Travis M. Reynolds
travisr@csa.us
303-951-6594
Online registration is available until: 5/24/2016
View the celebrities turning 65 in May.
The R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor is best known as an original member, and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White), of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, considered one of the most successful bands of the 20th century. Noted for his four-octave vocal range and distinctive falsetto register, Bailey has won seven Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire.
Bailey’s popular Earth, Wind & Fire songs include “Devotion,” “Head to the Sky,” “Reasons,” “Fantasy,” “I’ll Write A Song For You,” “Imagination,” “I’ve Had Enough” and “Guiding Lights.” He also shared lead vocals with White on “Shining Star,” “Getaway,” “September,” “Sing A Song,” “Serpentine Fire” and “Saturday Night.” His solo album, Chinese Wall (1985), received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. It included the global hit, “Easy Lover”, a duet with Phil Collins, which won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985 and was Grammy nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.
Bailey has also released two gospel albums: The Wonders of His Love (1984) and Triumph(1986)—the latter earning him a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance, Male—and two jazz albums: Dreams (1999) and Soul on Jazz (2002).
Born in Ireland and raised in London, the actor started out in theater, before appearing in film and TV shows. In 1982, Brosnan moved to Southern California and rose to popularity in the United States playing the title role in the NBC romantic detective series Remington Steele (1982–87). After that, he appeared in the Cold War spy film The Fourth Protocol (1987) and the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). In 1994, he became the fifth actor to portray secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day). He lent his likeness and voice in the video games James Bond 007: Nightfire and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. During this period, he also took the lead in other films, including the epic disaster adventure film Dante’s Peak (1997) and the remake of the heist film The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). After leaving the role of Bond, he has starred in the dark comedy The Matador (2005), for which was nominated for a Golden Globe, the musical/romantic comedy Mamma Mia! (2008), which won a National Movie Award, and the Roman Polanski-directed political thriller The Ghost Writer (2010).
In 1996, along with Beau St. Clair, Brosnan formed Irish DreamTime, a Los Angeles-based production company that produced The Thomas Crown Affair, which had both critical and box office success. In later years, he has become known for his charitable work and environmental activism. Brosnan became an American citizen in 2004.
A comedian, writer and actor, Franken ran for and won the seat of U.S. senator from Minnesota in 2009. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was well known as a writer and performer on the television comedy showSaturday Night Live (SNL). He first developed an interest in improvisational theatre in high school and was hired as a writer, with his writing partner Tom Davis, for SNL’s inception in 1975. He worked on the show as a writer and performer until 1980 and returned from 1985 to 1995. Franken received seven Emmy nominations and three awards for his television writing and producing while creating such characters as self-help guru Stuart Smalley.
After leaving SNL, he wrote and acted in movies and television shows. He also hosted a nationally syndicated, political radio talk show, which he said was meant to counter what Franken perceived to be the dominance of conservative syndicated commentary on the radio. He has written six books, four of which are political satires critical of conservative politics, including Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. After several decades as a comedic actor and writer, he became a prominent liberal political activist. In 2008, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman. He was easily re-elected to a second term in office in 2014.