14 Best Alzheimer's Videos of 2012 (Part 1 of 3)

The follow information was provided by Healthline:

See the truth about Alzheimer’s disease—a heartbreaking condition—firsthand through these incredible and poignant videos.

Losing a loved one to Alzheimer’s can be the cruelest sort of goodbye. Drawing out the pain of loss over many years, this frightening condition can rob families of the ability to connect and cope.

This collection of videos portrays the often sad yet inspiring tales of everyday families taking on the challenge of Alzheimer’s. The number of individuals faced with this diagnosis continues to grow, and these clips offer a glimmer of heartfelt insight into the experiences many millions of people will soon face.

When the Mind Says Goodbye
Marco Cuevas has a remarkable appreciation for the love between his parents. He has woven a stunning tale of affection, commitment, and grace in this touching portrait of his mother’s final years.

Let this dedicated son take you on a wonderful journey through the romantic past of his parents’ love story. Find out the true meaning of marriage vows, and see in this family the bond that connects the very lucky among us; experience the many blessings this lovely video has to offer. You won’t be sorry.


An Urgent Epidemic
Most educational videos are dry and spiritless. Not so with this creative, compassionate clip on Alzheimer’s disease. Written by David Shenk and distributed as a freebie “pocket” film to promote awareness and advocacy for Alzheimer’s disease, this simple but effective video reminds viewers of this condition’s impact.

By addressing this illness from a societal perspective, the clip offers viewers the chance to understand and appreciate the nature of Alzheimer’s—and its potential to change their own lives in many ways. This is a brief and meaningful informational tool that really connects.


My Sweetheart and Me: an Alzheimer’s Story
Despite the nightly focus on destruction and crime, the news occasionally captures a story worth remembering: a love story. This touching piece follows a loving couple through the wife’s slow decline from Alzheimer’s.

From singing a strong duet to shuffling in silence, the change in loved ones over the course of this illness can break even the hardest hearts. Follow the tale of love and dedication in this stirring news clip on the sweetest of sweethearts.


My Mother and Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is truly a worldwide phenomenon, and Ans Tummer’s story of her mother’s illness is proof of that fact. Listen as Ans, a board member of the Netherlands’ affiliate of theAlzheimer’s Disease Research program of the American Health Assistance Foundation, tells the sad but sweet story of her mother.

Everyone affected by a loved one’s Alzheimer’s can relate to the tragedy of lost relationships, talents, and traits. Ans shares a classic but unique tale, offering viewers an inspiring glimpse into the misfortune behind her personal motivation to end Alzheimer’s.


Remember When: Alzheimer’s Story
The startling recognition of Alzheimer’s disease in a loved one is perhaps never so upsetting as when it occurs decades before such a diagnosis may be expected. Early onset Alzheimer’s has been diagnosed in individuals as young as 29, and this poignant clip covers the emotion and pain entangled in such a difficult experience.

Follow this young couple in a touching reenactment of the heartbreaking but precious time spent post-diagnosis. This brief but noteworthy video brings a wonderful credibility and consequence to Ramsjet Films.

Stay Active - Mentally and Physically

I wanted to send out another shout out to all the continued support we've been getting from individuals and businesses throughout the golf industry and beyond.  It really is amazing to see communities pull together in support of charities like Cure Alzheimer's Fund.  We're very happy with the progress we've made over the past few weeks and are even more excited for what the future holds.

This past week I attended the 'Roadmap to Therapies' live conference put on by Cure Alzheimer's Fund where several keynote speakers discussed the focus and progress of their Alzheimer's research.  I personally found it very informative and encouraging to hear this information first hand from the experts.  It further reinforced the notion that Alzheimer's is a devastating disease that needs to be stopped.  As such, I'm even more ambitious to continue our DriveHard fundraising project to help raise awareness and funds for this cause.

One of the more basic topics that was covered in the conference was the importance of maintaining a healthy and active mental and physical lifestyle.  The benefits of doing this are countless especially as our bodies and mind start to age.  Staying mentally active with things like crossword puzzles, card games, chess etc, will provide your mind with the stimulation that it requires.  And physical health is equally as important as body and mind continue to work hand in hand.  This again can be simple activities like stretching, going for a walk or even playing a round of golf.

Golf is an amazing way to accomplish both mental and physical requirements.  Walking the course can be a good source for getting outside and getting some exerciser.  And the challenges on your mental capacity don't need to be explained to anyone who's played the game.  

Always By My Side

'Always By My Side' is a great book written by Jim Nantz with Eli Spielman that reflects on golf, life and lessons from his father's battle with Alzheimer's.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR
June 2008

Jim Nantz is the face of CBS Sports, a year ago hosting the network's coverage of the Super Bowl, Final Four and Masters during a nine-week stretch. Twelve years earlier, while his parents were visiting him during a PGA Tour event in Fort Worth, Nantz and his family were rocked when his father, Jim, suffered a mini-stroke, "probably the latest in a series of setbacks that we had failed to recognize for what they were," Nantz says in his newly released memoir, Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any other.

"In fact, there were numerous other warning signals," Nantz writes. "For instance, my sister, Nancy, recalled a recent incident on a vacation, when Dad went to the hotel lobby for a quick cup of coffee and forgot what room he was staying in. We also remembered Dad's sudden difficulty in correctly pronouncing the name of our longtime neighbor. We had laughed off these awkward moments to put my father at ease. But these and other cognitive data points were hiding in plain sight.

"In the weeks after Fort Worth, my dad's condition improved," Nantz says. "His speech returned, and the partial paralysis of his left arm also disappeared. Still, something was amiss. We became more conscious of his inability to 'connect the dots,' and our suspicions and fears mounted.

Finally, we took my father to be evaluated by a prominent neurologist, Dr. Stanley Appel. He confirmed the clinical diagnosis that several other physicians had made. It was the word we all had come to dread most: Alzheimer's."

With the patriarch remaining under care today, Nantz; his sister; mother, Doris; and extended family continue to deal with "the unremitting nightmare known as Alzheimer's," but the book remembers the good times as well as the tough ones. And with Father's Day on June 15, Nantz offers this dedication:

"To my family, especially Mom -- a woman of deep faith, fierce loyalty and unconditional love. To dads everywhere, who encourage their sons and daughters to dream big dreams -- and inspire their kids to pursue them. And to all who cope with Alzheimer's patients -- may you, too, find grace through the legacies of your loved ones."

Here, we excerpt moments from the Nantz family's journey.

*****

BOARD MEETING AT PEBBLE
Augusta National is one of the most beautiful courses ever created by man. But God's gift to golf can be found on the Monterey Peninsula with a pair of classics: Pebble Beach Golf Links and the Cypress Point Club -- separated by only three miles. There is no more breathtakingly scenic spot on this planet than this corner of California real estate.

Each February, after the Super Bowl and the 20-week grind of the football season, I come to Pebble for renewal. I put the time change to good use, waking up before 6 most mornings to slip on my running shoes and jog the course. Following the cartpath in darkness, I work my way out to the tee at the seventh hole. There, I sit in silence on the wooden rail fence, waiting for the dawn to break.

When the unfolding panorama of a new day stabilizes, I conduct my annual one-man "Board of Directors" meeting, taking stock of my life and my career. Along this same jagged shore, I had often sought insight and inspiration as I thought about my dad.

Years earlier in my career, I was plagued by a sense of "success guilt." How, I wondered, could I enjoy the affluence of the Lodge at Pebble Beach while Dad was driving all around Texas trying to develop a customer base for his office-furniture business? That was when I began to develop the idea that my father would travel with me and help me in my business.

Sadly, before that dream for my father could become a reality, he was overtaken by Alzheimer's. It was on the Monterey Peninsula where I grappled with the traumatic decision regarding his transfer to a private-care facility.

Balancing the emotional ledger, Pebble Beach was also where I was able to share a wonderful father-and-son road trip. In 1990, I had the privilege of bringing my dad out to watch the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am; he sat with me in the tower and walked the course, and on the day after the tournament we played Pebble Beach together. For someone who enjoyed the game -- and adored the beauty of nature -- as much as he did, it was, he claimed, one of the greatest rounds of his life.

Although I was never able to duplicate that wonderful experience with my father, I did relive it vicariously through CBS Sports executive producer Tony Petitti. He and his dad, John, a 22-year New York City police officer, loved golf. On weekends, they would drive out to Long Island's famed public course, arriving at Bethpage at 4 a.m. to reserve a tee time before sleeping in the car. In 1999, Tony brought his father out to play Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. John Petitti passed away five years afterward, and to this day, like me and countless others, Tony says that he cannot go back to Pebble without thinking of his dad and the warm memories of their special rounds together.

Always By My Side can be purchased online at Amazon.ca:

 

Golf and Alzheimer's - Facts and Stats

If you're visiting this website, you're probably already aware, two things that we are passionate about are golf and the battle against Alzheimer's.  In recent years, both have shown an increase in popularity on a global scale, one in a good way and one in a negative way.  Let's take a look at some of the statistics...

60 Million - The number of golfers worldwide

35 Million - The number of Alzheimer's sufferers worldwide

$604 Billion - The total estimated worldwide cost of dementia per year

$62 Billion - The estimated amount of money spent on golf each year

39 years old - Average age of golfers

70 years old - average age of Alzheimer's diagnosis

35% of golfers are over age 50

66% of Azlheimer's sufferers are female

22% of golfers are female

Some of these statistics are shocking to see.  Unfortunately, with the aging 'baby boomers' population, many of the Alzheimer's statistics are expected to increase significantly.  By supporting Alzheimer's research we are hoping to help decrease the number of Alzheimer's sufferers, as well as the extremely high costs associated with patient care.  

Staying active is proven to be a great way to also strengthen mental health condition.  Regardless of your age, golfing is a great way to get some exercise, enjoy the outdoors and be challenged, physically and mentally.  

- "I'll shoot my age if I have to live to be 105" - Bob Hope

- "I’m about five inches from being an outstanding golfer. That’s the distance my left ear is from my right" - Ben Crenshaw

(The stats and figures show above were found from various media publications and may not be 100% accurate.  For more information about Alzheimer's statistics and current information please visit Cure Alzheimer's Fund).

Making Progress - Thanks to Friends and Partners

As we continue to prepare for our official relaunch date of October 1st, I want to take a moment to thank some of the companies and organizations who are already showing their support and helping to bring this project to life.  

18for4.com is a free website connecting charity golf tournaments to the web. By partnering with Intellisparx LLC they have created a site that utilizes the Internet and social media to involve as many golfers and contributors to every charity golf tournament.

18for4 is designed to be an easy to use national listing site for local charity event organizers to list their golf tournaments getting more golfers and sponsors involved in every event. One of the most time consuming parts of throwing a tournament is getting the word out to people who support these worthwhile charities, and enjoy playing golf as a way to contribute funds to their favorite causes. We would like to see that no golfer misses a chance to participate in one of these events because they didn’t know.

Shortgame.com is working towards a worldwide community of golfers from every skill level. The future    of Shortgame.com is to one day have our members be able to walk into any course, any pro shop, any driving range anywhere in the world and receive discounts, range balls, free stuff, etc. This is an ambitious endeavor and this may take a while (the world is a big place and we are up for it).

Golfstinks is unlike any social media site you've seen, designed to manage your digital golf life. At Golfstinks you're free to relax and immerse yourself in golf, making it easy for golfers to share insights, course reviews and photos.  And talk about a course database...more than 18,000 courses listed in the U.S. alone!


Cure Alzheimer's Fund is changing the game.  Leveraging their deep experience in venture capital and corporate start-ups, Henry McCance, Phyllis Rappaport and Jacqui and Jeff Morby decided to apply their collective business savvy toward a different path for a cure. They collaborated to build a new strategy based on a venture capital model to accelerate Alzheimer’s research and focus 100 percent on finding a cure. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (CAF) was born from this entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to end Alzheimer’s.

Eat Sleep Golf is a marketing and promotions company focused on the golf industry.  With a goal of bringing innovation and creativity to the golf community, Eat Sleep Golf focuses on areas such as business analysis and brand development.

Eat Sleep Golf enjoys working closely with clients, gaining insight into their business and creating unique solutions that meet their needs.




The golf industry truly is an amazing community to be involved in and through this industry we hope to raise as much awareness and funds as possible for Alzheimer's and other worthy causes.  If you're interested in getting involved, please do not hesitate to contact us at: sales@drivehard.org

Partner Update

Thanks for your patience as we've been working on fine tuning our vision and direction for the DriveHard fundraising project. As such we have been reviewing and evaluating several methods which will enable us to better serve and support the Alzheimer's community. After much deliberation, I'm pleased to announce that we have partnered with the Cure Alzheimer's Fund.

The goal of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund (CAF) is to stop the disease before it even strikes, with early prediction and prevention. Discovered more than 100 years ago, Alzheimer’s is a genetic disease. But up until 2005, researchers only had discovered four genes associated with the disease, which accounted for just 30 percent of the inherited risk. Since 2005, CAF has discovered 120 other genes that are linked with Alzheimer’s and make up the other 70 percent of those at risk. But more importantly, identifying these genes is the first step to understanding the cause of the disease before a cure can be found. Research is the only path to progress.

For the past five years, CAF has focused some of the best scientific minds in the industry on fighting this disease. Their researchers are focused on cutting-edge work that is making progress in the search for a cure. They are tackling the biggest issues in Alzheimer’s disease at renowned institutions across the United States and abroad.

We are very happy to be working in conjunction with the Cure Alzheimer's Fund and look forward helping them with their ongoing efforts of making breakthrough advancements relating to Alzheimer's research.  Our primary goal with the DriveHard fundraising project will be to engage the golfing community in an effort to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's through the Cure Alzheimer's Fund.

- - -
Please note that DriveHard is a fundraising project with a goal of raising awareness and funds for Alzheimer's and the Cure Alzheimer's Fund.  If you would like to make a donation in support of Alzheimer's,  please do so through the Cure Alzheimer's Fund website.

World Alzheimer's Day - September 21, 2012

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- September 21st is World Alzheimer's Day; a date set aside by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1994 to bring attention to a devastating disease that has affected the entire world and has become a major global health issue.

The theme of this year's World Alzheimer's Day 2012 is 'Dementia: Living Together'. The focus will be on reducing the stigma associated with dementia and encouraging a better understanding of dementia in our communities. Misconceptions are common, greater education and positive messages are hugely important. We need a World Alzheimer's Day partly because attitudes and approaches still vary enormously, often to the detriment of those afflicted. This day is intended to sensitize the general public to the facts associated with the disease.

Awareness about this degenerative and irreversible disorder is very important. By helping people better understand the disease, the symptoms, and the extent to which the disease can progress, we not only help the patients, we help the family members and caregivers better cope with the ordeal of watching their loved ones slip into dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and although a great deal of excellent research continues to advance our knowledge of the disease, Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and it cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Today there are over 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease, and a new case emerges every 68 seconds. Because the population of the U.S. is aging, the number of people with Alzheimer's will continue to rise unless something can be done to stem the disease. At current rates, experts believe that as many as 16 million Americans will have the disease by the year 2050.

Staying Safe: Wandering and The Alzheimer's Patient

One of the most dangerous symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease is the life threatening behavior of wandering or elopement. An Alzheimer's patient who wanders away can easily become lost and confused and every minute delayed in recovering them increases the risk of a tragic outcome. It is imperative that caregivers take steps to minimize the potential of wandering and in the event their loved one goes missing have a plan or program in place to quickly locate them.

Governments should "spend now to save later" because early diagnosis, safety, and security steps could yield huge savings.

World Alzheimer's day tells the caregivers of Alzheimer's patients that they are not alone and it helps in educating the general public about this devastating disease. Awareness will one day lead to effective treatments and eventually a cure. Until then our mission, at Project Lifesaver, will remain protecting the at risk populations and improving the quality of life for their caregivers by delivering the tools and training to public safety agencies that are responding to individuals with cognitive disorders that elope.

To contact Gene Saunders, CEO/ Founder Project Lifesaver International or for more information visit us at: http://www.projectlifesaver.org/ 1-877-580-LIFE (5433)

SOURCE Project Lifesaver International