Thursday, February 20, 2014

After suffering stroke, musician turns into painter

After suffering stroke, musician turns into painter

Diane Glassmiers watercolors grace lobby at Forest Grove Beehive

by: NEWS-TIMES PHOTO: MICHELLE THOMAS - Diane Glassmier, 76, stands in the lobby at The Beehive in Forest Grove next to one of her many paintings. The former professional violinist turned to watercolors after suffering a stroke at age 37.
by: NEWS-TIMES PHOTO: MICHELLE THOMAS - Diane Glassmier, 76, stands in the lobby at The Beehive in Forest Grove next to one of her many paintings. The former professional violinist turned to watercolors after suffering a stroke at age 37.
“People inspire my artwork,” Diane Glassmier said with a laugh. “All kinds of people — children, parents, it doesn’t matter. Everybody brings such positivity to my world.”
Glassmier, of Forest Grove, began painting at the age of 38. It was, she said, the creative release she needed after a major stroke the year before left her in a coma for a month. When she woke up, Glassmier found her right arm and leg were paralyzed from the elbow and knee down.
She suffered two smaller strokes a week later, prolonging the return of her motor skills. Three doctors’ evaluations, as well as a grueling series of tests, never revealed the exact cause of the cerebrovascular incidents. At 37, Glassmier’s world had taken a shattering turn.
“I didn’t know what to do ... I just knew I had to stay positive for my kids,” she recalled.
At first her affliction didn’t bother her. But soon she realized her days performing as a musician were over. At the time, Glassmier was married and working as a professional violinist, having secured a career that spanned the U.S. She’d played with symphonies in Lexington, Ky., and Eugene and Corvallis, Ore., respectively.
Shortly after her strokes, however, Glassmier’s personal life changed radically as well. She had four young daughters to raise from her first marriage, was unable to find work due to her disability and was living with a disgruntled second husband, she said.
The couple subsequently divorced, making Glassmier a single parent. She and her daughters survived on monthly child support and disability checks. The women relied on each other to help make it through, Glassmier noted.
It was during this period she discovered her desire to paint.
“I started playing the violin at the age of 7. I loved it [and] when I realized I couldn’t play anymore it broke my heart,” said Glassmier. “I needed something to keep my mind occupied. I thought painting would be a great outlet for me.”
Glassmier chose watercolors as her media. She found them to be “forgiving,” she said, and — because she wanted something to help her stay focused long-term — they took the longest to learn. She also enjoyed the way the colors represented themselves on paper.
Having found her way to Portland via central Oregon, she decided to take two classes each from local art instructors Caroline Buchanan and Bill Chumbley. The classes, she felt, helped her understand the way the paint worked. She spent the next 30 years practicing her adopted craft.
When Glassmier considered moving to The Beehive Retirement Community in Forest Grove, she told manager Kathleen Leatham about her hobby. After viewing her work, Glassmier said, Leatham asked to display four or five paintings in the assisted care center’s lobby, and the artist readily agreed.
The paintings include landscapes, abstracts and portraits. New works of Glassmier’s are rotated in and out of the lobby every six weeks. With her girls grown and at a thriving 76 years old, Glassmier typically finishes one painting a day — because, she said, it keeps her happy.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Caring for the Alzheimer's Caregiver


The following is from a New York Times article written by Jane E. Brody:

Caring for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver

Yvetta Fedorova
Personal Health
PERSONAL HEALTH
Jane Brody on health and aging.
Paul Divinigracia does not consider himself a saint. But to observe how he cares for his wife, Virgie, now 11 years into Alzheimer’s disease, you might think otherwise.
The Divinigracias celebrated their 50th anniversary in August. At 75, Mr. Divinigracia still calls his 87-year-old wife “dear,” and he clearly means it, even after he has answered the same question a dozen times within a few moments. Patience, he said in an interview, is the watchword of his existence.
“We laugh a lot — laughter definitely helps,” he said. “I make jokes out of many of the problems. Maintaining a sense of humor enables me to stay in balance.”
Lest he run out of things to laugh about, he and his wife watch amusing programs on Filipino television (both are natives of the Philippines). “It reduces the tension,” he said.
But there is no question that being the full-time caregiver of a family member with Alzheimer’s or any other form of dementiarequires constant adjustments. New challenges frequently arise. Mr. Divinigracia’s latest is trying to persuade his wife to bathe.
“Sometimes I offer a reward, like telling her, ‘We’re going out for lunch or dinner, and the restaurant won’t let us in unless we smell good,’ ” he said.
Mr. Divinigracia could easily have been the subject of one of the 54 stories in a new book, “Support for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers: The Unsung Heroes,” by Judith L. London. Dr. London is a psychologist in San Jose, Calif., whose first book, “Connecting the Dots: Breakthroughs in Communication as Alzheimer’s Advances,” broadened her contacts with family and professional caregivers facing, and often solving, everyday problems related to dementia.
She based each of the stories on situations confronting caregivers she has encountered, offering suggestions that could help others in similar circumstances.
The challenges include convincing patients or other relatives that something is really amiss, that lapses are not only a result of the gradual decline in memory that can accompany aging, as well as keeping people with dementia from slipping unnoticed out of the house and getting lost. (Double deadbolts on all the doors are a common and effective deterrent.)
“I have to be very observant of what’s going on at all times,” Mr. Divinigracia said. “She’s become very obsessive about safety, constantly checking to be sure all the doors and windows are locked and plugs are unplugged, and wanting to take out the garbage.” One day, after putting garbage in a pail outside, Mrs. Divinigracia forgot where the house was and had to be brought home by a neighbor.
The Divinigracias often visit family. Their daughter has taken to putting notes everywhere in her home, reminding her mother what to do and what not to do. “She does read the notes and follow the instructions,” Mr. Divinigracia said.
“Caregiving is an act of love, even for paid caregivers,” Dr. London said in an interview. “You put so much of yourself out there all the time, especially with Alzheimer’s patients. The average span of the disease is seven years and it can go on as long as 20 years, and the challenges only increase with time.”
Dr. London worries a lot about the stress on these caregivers, and rightly so. According to the data from Stanford University and the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 15 million people provide unpaid care for family members or friends with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. The strain of the task has been shown in many studies to increase the risk of a variety of illnesses, and even death.
Mr. Divinigracia loves to travel, and he’s discovered that taking trips stimulates his wife in a positive way. “Her attention spanincreases, and information is better retained from the new places we visit,” he said. On a recent drive from Fremont, Calif., where they live, to Seattle for a family event, they passed through beautiful mountains north of San Francisco.
“She just loved that and can recall it, even though she can’t remember what I told her two minutes ago,” he said. To maximize quality time together in whatever time they have left, he’s planned trips to Hawaii in April and Europe in September.
Sometimes, though, returning to an old activity can be stimulating and fun. In one of Dr. London’s stories, a caregiving wife gets her husband, who has serious dementia, to again enjoy golf, his former passion, by saying she wants to play. Once at the driving range with club in hand, he suddenly remembered what to do and sent the ball flying.
The message: “Once you get him started, he may still know how to do something he could do years before. What a thrill!” Dr. London wrote.
Likewise, there may be ways to awaken pleasant memories through new experiences. Dr. London tells the story of a woman who picked a sprig of rosemary during a walk around a lake. The smell reminded her husband of how much he liked her rosemary chicken, and he said so in the first complete sentence he’d spoken in months.
One of the most common, distressing challenges faced by caregivers occurs when dementia patients become agitated or physically or verbally abusive, situations that are emotionally exhausting and sometimes dangerous for patients and caregivers alike.
Laura N. Gitlin, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, works with a team of occupational therapists to find ways to cope with such situations without drugs. They prescribe activities that patients and caregivers can do together tailored to the patients’ abilities, needs and interests. The result is patients who are calmer, safer and more engaged, and caregivers who are less stressed. Still, there are times when even the most astute and clever caregiver fails to overcome a challenge, particularly when an Alzheimer’s patient becomes violent. When one woman’s husband seemed possessed by demons, screaming curses and menacing her with a knife, Dr. London wrote, she finally realized that she could no longer care for him safely at home. Reluctantly, she had to place him in a home so that both of them could be safe.
From conversations with others and participation in a semimonthly Alzheimer’s Association support group, Mr. Divinigracia knows that the worst is yet to come. He continues to learn effective ways to cope with the challenges that arise, and how to take them in stride.
Still, Dr. London said, “caregivers are often the casualties, the hidden victims, of Alzheimer’s disease.
“No one sees the sacrifices they make,” she said.
It is vital for caregivers to take good care of themselves, she added, by exercising, eating and sleeping properly, and getting respite care when needed.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Fighting Alzheimer's Stigma


Five tips to overcome Alzheimer's stigma

The following tips are based on the advice and experience of current and former members of the Alzheimer's Association National Early-Stage Advisory Group (ESAG), which consists of individuals in the early stage of the disease who help raise awareness about the disease.
  1. Be open and direct.
    Engage others in discussions about Alzheimer's disease and the need for prevention, better treatment and an eventual cure. Engage with others like you on our message boards.
  2. Communicate the facts.
    Sharing accurate information is key to dispelling misconceptions about the disease. Whether a pamphlet or link to online content, offer information to help people better understand Alzheimer's disease. Learn the facts about Alzheimer’s and find an education program near you.
  3. Seek support and stay connected.
    It is important to stay engaged in meaningful relationships and activities. Whether family, friends or a support group, a network is critical. 
    Contact your local chapter about an early-stage support group near you.

  4. Don't be discouraged.
    Denial of the disease by others is not a reflection of you. If people think that Alzheimer's disease is normal aging, see it as an education opportunity. 
    Tips for helping family and friends.

  5. Be a part of the solution.
    As an individual living with the disease, yours is the most powerful voice to help raise awareness, end stigma and advocate for more Alzheimer’s support and research.
    Learn how you can take action in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
[Tips and Video courtesy of alz.org]