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Advice From Your Advocates
Advice From Your Advocates
Beyond Alzheimer's: How the Alzheimer’s Association Supports All Dementia Journeys
In this episode of Advice From Your Advocates, elder law attorney Bob Mannor talks with Douglas Lobdell, Program Manager at the Alzheimer’s Association, about the wide range of support available for families facing dementia—including those dealing with more than just Alzheimer’s.
Douglas shares insights from his years in senior care and highlights essential tools like the 24/7 helpline (800-272-3900), personalized care consultations, caregiver support groups, and educational programs. They also explore creative approaches to care, including how music and art therapy can tap into preserved areas of the brain.
Whether you’re a caregiver, elder care professional, or just planning for the future, this episode is packed with practical resources and compassionate guidance for every stage of the dementia journey.
Host: Attorney Bob Mannor
Guest: Douglas Lobdell, Program Manager with Alzheimer's Association
Executive Producer: Savannah Meksto
Assistant Producers: Samantha Noah, Shalene Gaul
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ABOUT US:
Mannor Law Group helps clients in all matters of estate planning and elder law including special needs planning, veterans’ benefits, Medicaid planning, estate administration, and more. We offer guidance through all stages of life.
We also help families dealing with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other illnesses that cause memory loss. We take a comprehensive, holistic approach, called Life Care Planning. LEARN MORE...
You're listening to Advice from your Advocates, a show where we provide elder law advice to professionals who work with the elderly and their families.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to Advice from your Advocates. I'm Bob Manor. I'm a board-certified elder law attorney here in Michigan and I'm really excited about our guest today. So we have Douglas Lobdell from the Alzheimer's Association. So we have Douglas Lobdell from the Alzheimer's Association. Douglas has been a friend of Manor Law Group for I don't know at least 10 years and he's a very passionate advocate for those families that are dealing with someone with dementia. I'm really excited to have Douglas here. Welcome, doug.
Speaker 1:Can you just give us an idea of who you are and what you do at the Alzheimer's Association. So my title with the Alzheimer's Association is program manager, which doesn't really clarify anything. What that looks like in reality is recruiting, managing volunteers, making sure that support groups are happening and available in different areas, as well as education programs. But a large part of my role also includes making sure that people know we're here and what we can do for folks that need us in sometimes their darkest times, when they're dealing with this disease and others.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and you know, you and I have talked about this frequently, about how so many people don't have an understanding of all of the options and services that the Alzheimer's Association offers, which is, you know, it's some really important services and help. Before we get into the specifics of that, I want to ask this very important question Do you have to have Alzheimer's to benefit from these programs, or does it cover all forms of dementia?
Speaker 1:No, the answer is all forms of dementia. If you were to look at my W-2, since everybody just got theirs in the mail the organization I work for is actually the Alzheimer's disease and all other related dementias, but that's not quite as catchy on a flyer. So the Alzheimer's Association rolls off the tongue a little bit easier. Plus, it is the most common type of dementia that we find.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But yes, any form of dementia or even just mild cognitive impairment issues, they can provide some help.
Speaker 2:So I want to put an emphasis on that, about how the Alzheimer's Association is all forms of dementia and I think some of our listeners still might be have a little confusion about that that dementia is a disease in and of itself. And the reality is dementia is a category of diseases. Right, it's so. It's like saying somebody has cancer, okay. We always ask then, what type of cancer?
Speaker 2:Unfortunately and I, you know, my staff and I, my team and I have been we're talking about this just last week I do feel like there's a bit of ageism when it comes to the medical staff and dementia is often we'll get this diagnosis of generalized dementia and that there's not any further analysis of.
Speaker 2:Okay, is it vascular, is it Alzheimer's, is it frontal, temporal, is it Lewy body, you know, and those things, the diagnosis. Certainly, if we had cancer, we would want a very clear diagnosis of what that is and what symptoms we're going to have. And unfortunately, sometimes with dementia it is not. It is just saying, okay, well, this person has generalized dementia, okay, let's dig a little deeper and figure out what type of that is. Just saying, okay, well, this person has generalized dementia, okay, let's dig a little deeper and figure out what type of that is? Now, I know that the point that you're making is it doesn't matter Alzheimer's Association and related dementias are here for everyone. But I do like to make that point that I'm always recommending to families that they try to dig deeper and say, okay, but what type?
Speaker 1:of dementia. Do you think this is A show where we provide elder law advice to professionals who work with the elderly and their families? For a very long time and you've been around long enough to see this as well that F30 unspecified dementia with behavioral disturbance diagnosis was all too common, right that?
Speaker 1:was you got, send you home good luck. But where we are as far as research and treatment goes, the importance of an accurate diagnosis is probably never been more critical, because the treatments that are coming out for Alzheimer's disease will not help you if you have Lewy body's dementia or vascular. Similarly, we're going to treat vascular and Lewy body dementia differently, not just on symptom you know, symptom management but as well as medications that we administer and things like that. And you made the perfect analogy there. You wouldn't just accept the answer I have cancer and call it good because we treat every kind of cancer different, just like we need to treat every kind of dementia different. So you'll see, probably over the next few years, a little bit of an increase.
Speaker 1:I don't want to use the word marketing campaign, but that's the word that comes to mind from the association about the importance of not just accepting that diagnosis and getting more questions answered from your doctor so that your next steps aren't steps into the dark.
Speaker 2:That's great. I'm really glad to hear that because I think that's so important. Let's get into some of the first of all, I know your background. If you want to give us a little bit more about your background, you've worked in all stages, I think, or many stages of helping families deal with long-term care issues and you've been a passionate advocate all the way along. You know you and I's first interaction was you volunteering for the Alzheimer's Association and not getting paid for it, and it just shows how you know that this is an issue for you that you're passionate about and I'm really glad that you're in your current role. But tell us a little bit about your background.
Speaker 1:So I, by degree and licensure, I'm a social worker, graduated in 2012. And since then I have exclusively worked in senior health care of some sort, whether it's in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, memory care settings, and then, inevitably, with the association. That's the only thing that I know how to do. Reality and um and like you said, we met the first time. Well, doing math, it's a big number.
Speaker 1:Now I want to say it's close to 15 years ago, probably yeah, I started volunteering with the Association for the Walk Planning side, and I volunteered straight for 14 years before a position became available that I was like it's time that I take this jump and actually work for them. So it's definitely something that I know, I love, I'm passionate about, and I also want to see improvement and change in as far as making sure people aren't forgotten, because we all know dementia isn't a normal part of aging. It's a disease and it's something that needs to be faced, not ignored.
Speaker 2:So if we can get over that stigma, even better. I was at a national conference this weekend, this past weekend, that deals with long-term care and dementia and how lawyers can help with that, and so one of the conversations that came up is a sad conversation but it's a true conversation and I think we're all exposed to social media. We have TikTok running on, flipping, know, flipping through the TikTok, flipping through whatever Facebook, whatever is your preferred social media. But every month it seems there is some kind of hype about some new drug or some new treatment. And the conversation we were having at this conference was it's not, we're not going to.
Speaker 2:I mean, obviously Alzheimer's Association talks about you know that we're trying to find a cure. Not, we're not going to. I mean, obviously Alzheimer's Association talks about you know that we're trying to find a cure, but that's not going to happen tomorrow. And so the false hope I think that sometimes comes out when there's all this hype about this drug or that drug or whatever it is, and of course we're always working towards that. But the sad reality is, for those that are currently experiencing dementia, they're not probably going to benefit from whatever medical advances that we have in 10, 20, 100 years and that we have to be realistic about the idea that if we have a form of dementia, it's probably with the exception of those short-term like delirium it's probably only going to get worse, that when we see this stuff on social media or elsewhere. It isn't likely to provide a cure in six months, right.
Speaker 1:So a ton has happened in research lately. If I had two, three hours of your time we could go over a lot of that stuff, but I don't. I will say, with the current medication treatments that are coming out within the last couple of years, lekembe and then Denonimab are the two main ones that are showing an actual impact on the biology of the disease. You know, for years the medications have treated symptoms Thinking back to 1996, when the very first ones came out. That's all symptom management. At the end of the day it doesn't actually affect the amyloid plaques and tau tangles that are damaging the brain. These new medications are, which is awesome because it's, you know, something to be optimistic about those medications. They'll have to be administered early in the disease process and they based on research. You know we're two, three years into some of these medications.
Speaker 1:There's not a ton of information on longer term effects of it but delaying symptoms up to six to eight months, which for a family and you know this, someone with a fresh diagnosis six to eight months is a lifetime. From a researcher standpoint they might not see that as relevant. But for a family to be able to have that extra six months or more to plan for the future, to just enjoy life in the present before symptoms continue to progress. That can make or break a person. But you're correct, because someone right now in a late stage of dementia, isn't eligible for that medication and realistically, on a medication that is focused on that pathology. You know, clearing the plaques and tangles if the damage is already done in the brain. We can't regrow the brain, not yet at least. So those folks are still going to benefit from the Alzheimer's Association, but they're going to benefit from the programs and services side, which is the support and education and beyond.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a great segue into what I want to make sure that we have an opportunity to talk about, which is all of the services that the Alzheimer's Association provides. Let's start with one and then we'll go into a lot of the others. But the hotline that you guys have, I think, is really great, because when we have a caregiver spouse or a caregiver child, it can be really overwhelming and the idea that I believe and you can correct me, douglas, if I'm wrong this is a 24-hour hotline that they can call and talk to somebody that understands, you know, that understands how difficult and how challenging it is to care for a loved one with dementia. So tell us a little bit more, if you will, about that, I believe. 24-hour hotline.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so our 24-hour helpline, 800-272-3900. It's a number worth remembering and it's exactly that 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It can be a crisis line, it can be a resource line, it can be an anything line. I tell you what the folks that work on our helpline team are the real MVPs, because they filter through a lot of different things throughout the day and are able to connect these that I or.
Speaker 1:In my opinion, the best thing about a 24-hour helpline is that it covers the full spectrum. It could be one in the afternoon. My doctor just retired. I need a new gerontologist for my mom. I don't know of any in the area. You call them and they'll collect lists from the area that you can seek out and try to find a new doctor.
Speaker 1:But it could also be two in the morning and you're caring for your spouse and they're outside and they're behavioral, belligerent, upset and you don't know how to deal with the situation, calm the situation down. You call the helpline. They get a master's level counselor on the phone, walk you through best practices, tips and tricks that can help calm the situation so that it can be resolved and hopefully prevent, say, like a 911 call, and then anywhere in between. It's also through our helpline that you can access all of our other programs and services. You know our website is great. There's a ton of resources and answers there, but it's a lot. I mean it's a lot especially if you're not someone who's very tech savvy so you can call that number and get connected with the exact same resources that are there, whether it's support groups to care, consultation.
Speaker 2:I think that's so important, what you just said about helping families, perhaps give them suggestions of how to word things, and I'm rephrasing what you said, but I think that's really important. We work with so many families and it is difficult, from whether it's your dad or your mom or your spouse, to accept that this isn't just them being stubborn or them being. You know that we have baggage, we have family baggage. Right, we all have this baggage kind of rears its head, when really this is the disease that is causing that belligerence by the person with some form of dementia. But we often in the marketplace and the field that we both practice is we call it behaviors, and so too often it's easy to come in with that baggage and say, well, this is my dad being grumpy or stubborn. Well, okay, maybe, but there's probably more to it than that and it probably is related to how his brain works now and that yelling at him or arguing with him is probably the absolute worst choice in trying to resolve that issue and the idea that there's a helpline that they can call and say, okay, this is what's happening. I need to deescalate this. How do I do that?
Speaker 2:And what I hear you telling me is that the folks that are on that helpline would have that advice about not trying to make it where you're fighting with your dad or you're fighting with your spouse. It is addressing the person and understanding the disease and realizing that there are techniques or communication styles that are going to be effective. Because the reality is you could try to convince your dad that has dementia that they're wrong, but even if somehow you were successful in convincing them they're wrong, they will forget that by the next day. So trying to prove your point is pointless, because by the next day they'll have forgotten anything they had agreed to or anything that they had maybe come to some realization about, and so it's so important to address these conversations in the right way and try to leave that baggage behind this is a person that is sick and this is someone that needs my help.
Speaker 1:role and accepting that very true bit about it's not them being like this, it's their brain that is damaged, telling them to be like this. You know we wouldn't look at you know someone with an outward disability and say, well, there's nothing wrong with you. You're choosing to be like that, but because we can't see it, because it's internal within our brain. We have a bigger challenge trying to identify that as a disease and not a stubborn, you know, father or whatever it might be.
Speaker 2:One of the other topics we addressed at this conference I was at last weekend was on the stigma of dementia and how unfortunate that is and it's, you know, both sides.
Speaker 2:It's the family feeling, unfortunately, sometimes the family feeling embarrassed and not, and the problem with that is then they might one of my other podcast guests called this cocoon cocoon into the house and not receive the help and resources they could get from Alzheimer's and other groups, not have that social interaction which is so important to keep a quality of life and just sort of hide that person in the house and how damaging that can be. On the other side of it is the societal stigma. You know, I don't know how many times I've seen this where I'm at a restaurant or something and because of the years of experience I can observe and see that someone has some form of dementia and sometimes, you know, the general public is not very accepting of that, you know and I, and so I think it can kind of go on both sides of it the family being, you know, wanting to not involve the person in the outside world and then the outside world not being very friendly when it comes to the different aspects of someone with dementia.
Speaker 1:That's very, very true, something that the association does well. We have a couple of things from the association side I'd like to mention. First, it's a reminder to any of your caregivers out there is that self-care is not selfish. Take care of yourself, get out of the house when you can, because you cannot pour from an empty glass. We know that. From the association side of things, we do have, of course, education and support programs that address that. But we also have social engagement programs.
Speaker 1:One of the local ones for Genesee County, livingston County area, is the Art Spark program. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it. It's through the fia. It is put on specifically for individuals with mild to moderate cognitive impairment and their care partners to come and do gallery tours with their trained docents. They we have an amazing partner there, jennifer, who trained docents to be able to handle situations with individuals with dementia. So they get gallery and then they also do art making. So anywhere from clay to the print art I believe it was last month or maybe it's this coming month they're actually doing they're making paperweights in the hot shop. Basically, the intention of the social engagement program is to make sure that someone doesn't get a diagnosis and then lock themselves away.
Speaker 1:It's not going to help you to lock yourself away, so to be able to maintain that social activity, be with people who are in similar situations. And again, just like all of our other programs, that's a free program that we offer. Beyond that, I'm focused quite hard and in Genesee County it's going quite well at least on educating maybe non-healthcare professionals in this, because when we think of the statistic that one in three seniors will at some point in their life develop some form of dementia, everybody is going to encounter somebody with dementia at some point, whether it's at the library, whether it's at the movie theater, whether it's at a restaurant. So we also provide education to those settings as well, so that people are more competent and confident when they're potentially faced with that situation in their workplace, where they're not expecting it. You know especially you know I've had meetings with banks because that's a concerning area, you know this all too well the risk for financial exploitation and someone who has memory loss.
Speaker 2:So being able to identify those signs and symptoms and concerns and what to do to address them in every other industry- and what to do to address them in every other industry, on any transaction, until they have time to investigate further to make sure that it's not someone taking advantage or elder abuse. We have the funny story You'll remember Rachel from our office that was she's not with us, she's not. She's still with us, but she's not with the office anymore. But you'll remember Rachel and how sweet and genuine she is. And she went to the bank with one of our clients and had her manner law tag on her on her shirt.
Speaker 2:And you went to the bank with one of our clients and had her mannered law tag on her shirt and the bank was very skeptical of this young, pretty girl sitting next to this older man saying we need to transfer this money into this new account, which we were doing for legal and appropriate purposes. But I was appreciative of the fact that they didn't just let it happen without really making an inquiry. That's what banks should be doing is saying okay, well, this may be legitimate. We're not going to just accept it on its face. We're going to make sure that there is. You know that it's not just somebody taking advantage of someone. And, as funny as it was because of you, know the situation that we were in and the person that went to the bank with our client, I felt it was very appropriate for the bank to be cautious and not immediately follow through on the transaction that we were trying to do, and I mean it's a good sign that people are willing to step up and be observant of those.
Speaker 1:As far I mean, it's a scary world. People are willing to step up and be observant of those. As far I mean, it's a scary world and I think we've all heard too many scams and all the other things we can encounter, so that there's folks out there who are maybe not necessarily expected to care or respond based on those. It's not family, it's not friends, but they're still willing to step up and keep an eye on things as a good indicator for society.
Speaker 2:In my head, the other thing I wanted to comment on that you mentioned a bit ago was the socialization that Alzheimer's Association could provide with the FIA and different things. What I've learned through the years is that often, with any form well, certain, especially certain forms of dementia that well, they might not be able to remember what they had for breakfast or whether they took their pill or not, or even sometimes your name they often will have the ability, any sort of the artistic part of the brain, the creative part of the brain, still works, and that's really interesting. We had an occupational therapist that we had come speak to us a while back this was many years ago actually but she would work with folks with dementia that also had physical limitations and were a fall risk and rather than trying to put a note or just constantly remind the person to use their walker, she would come up with a song to sing about. When you get up, you use the walker and I'm not going to even attempt to sing the song because nobody wants that, but it was a very sing-songy, one of those brain worms that will just stick in your head because it was a very catchy tune, sing-songy kind of a song that she made up words to of catchy tune, sing-songy kind of a song that she made up words to what she found and this is anecdotal, obviously, but what she found was when they would sing this song, enough that it really was helpful in getting someone to remember to use their walker or to use their cane, or you know, and really improve the fall risk so that there's less likely they're going to fall, and that's just very interesting.
Speaker 2:She explained it about the you know, the neural connections, the brain waves in the different parts of the brain and how that there's certain parts of the brain that are not affected by it, and one of them is the creative. So music, art, you know those types of things. You'll see sometimes somebody that has significant dementia and they can sit down at the piano and play beautifully, and so I thought that was a fascinating thing in that sometimes those are the ways that well, we can't you know, we can't just berate somebody for not using their walker. There might be ways that we can remind them to use their walker by using different parts of their. We can remind them to use their walker by using different parts of their brain than what we're used to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that goes along with a lot of other person-centered care planning for folks. You're going to take what they can do and if it's singing and if it's remembering songs like that, you're going to use that to be able to help the situation. Make sure you play on that strength and make sure you allow them that independence as much as possible. But yeah, it is interesting. I mean anecdotally, in my experience working in skilled nursing I had a resident once upon a time and I'm sure you're very well familiar with the cognitive assessments that we do and things like that.
Speaker 1:And I could never get much of a response out of this individual, but I did sing it poorly, of course, because I'm not a vocalist either. She was able to sing the words. She couldn't say the words, but she could sing the words and I always found that to be interesting and I look forward someday to having a true, true understanding of how that really works in the brain, because it's very interesting.
Speaker 2:That is very interesting, Douglas, tell us a little bit more about the Alzheimer's Association and how they can help families. I know we'll address one of them is the support group. So I know that Alzheimer's Association all over the country has support groups. We have one that we host at our office. But tell us first more about the support groups and then we'll get into some of the other services that Alzheimer's Association does Of course.
Speaker 1:So our support groups are well, they're all over the place. Like you say, you have one in your office In Genesee County. We have seven support groups. Our support groups are volunteer-ran, so we actively recruit and train our volunteers so they're able to facilitate support groups in a safe and confidential environment.
Speaker 1:The idea of going through a caregiving journey of somebody with Alzheimer's or other form of dementia is daunting. So to be able to have other people experience that can share their experiences and their wisdom is important. I know I've often said when people, people always have specific questions. Nobody has a general question but it's some very specific. I'm caring for my parent and this very specific thing keeps happening. I wish that I had all of the answers but I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1:But a lot of times they'll find those answers in their support groups because other people have encountered those very specific behaviors and how they've tackled them themselves. But also just being able to go to a place and knowing you're not alone in what you're doing and you know you're never family, you know you might never see each other again in a few years. But to have that support system of people who truly understand what you're experiencing and you understand what they're experiencing is pretty moving. Our groups, of course, are free. They range in times and locations so that we could try to accommodate anybody with different working schedules. So I mean there's a pretty good chance that you can find one either on our website or you can call the helpline and they'll connect you with one directly as well.
Speaker 2:That's great, douglas, tell us a little bit more about some of the other ways that the Alzheimer's Association can help families.
Speaker 1:So we also offer education programs. We have a full curriculum it's about two pages of different topics that we present on. All of our topics are very much designed for family caregivers or I guess I should say non-professional caregivers to be able to understand and process. The programs range anywhere from 10 warning signs and healthy habits for brain and body. We also have a five-part series on how to be an empowered caregiver and maintain independence and communication barriers and behavioral barriers, as well as programs that are specific to some of our DDI outreach, like LGBTQ and HIV-related dementias and individuals with intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities and dementia as well. So we have a slew of topics. We do, of course, also offer professional training for people, say, working in skilled nursing or physicians. Those aren't considered common programs so I don't deal with them so much. But all of our regular education programs very digestible, very beneficial for folks that have no idea what they're doing, because you don't learn how to care for someone with dementia until you have to care for someone with dementia.
Speaker 2:Same thing with every other disease.
Speaker 1:Paralleling that thought, we also offer care consultation, which is one of, in my opinion, one of our most valuable programs. Essentially, you call the helpline, they set you up with one of our care counselors In this area. It's Miranda, a very well-known social worker in this area. She's a master's level social worker. She'll meet with the family, do a comprehensive assessment, build a care plan and then follow along for six months so to actually be able to guide a family with, say, a fresh diagnosis or a new behavioral change through what we know works, but then also connecting with local resources and support programs in the area so that a family is set up for success to the best of their ability. Those are also offered virtually, like in our northern part of Michigan, but here in Genesee County and the surrounding areas it's offered in person with Miranda or one of our other care counselors, which is, I mean, an invaluable resource for someone who is thrown into this journey. By themselves. It can be terrifying.
Speaker 2:I agree. I think that's a tremendous resource because it is so difficult to be able to filter down all of the possible options. We have a chart that we'll hand out to our clients that kind of walks through the difference between home care and independent living and assisted living and memory care, all the things along the way. It is it all you know. I would imagine to the average person who's just starting to look into this it all kinds of kind of blends together and that it's really hard to distinguish. You know we have some really great independent livings that would be completely inappropriate for somebody that has severe dementia and is a wander risk, you know, and so that would be, but they. It's really hard for a lot of families to distinguish that because you know they've heard about how great this independent living is but that under the right you know it might not be a good fit for them. So that service where you help the families really understand what the needs are and what the options are, is just tremendous.
Speaker 1:And I feel too, it's nice to have a third party offer that support. I know I've spoken to our care counselors many times and stories that I hear about they might even only be there once or twice, but it's them and the two daughters that are at different ends of their understanding of the disease or the spouse and the sibling, or the spouse and the adult child that are not on the same page as far as what to expect, because they're seeing it from two different angles.
Speaker 1:So a third party coming in to be able to kind of play advocate for both sides and make sure that everybody's on the same page in their journey, whether it's looking for long-term care, whether it's looking for resources to be able to stay out of long-term care, to have somebody who is 100% unbiased and unwinded situation come in and offer just, you know, empathy, but also resources and knowledge on the topic.
Speaker 2:I think that's so important to deal with the family dynamic too. I vividly recall a family meeting I had with a client, and the husband, the dad of the family, had expressed to me that he was on his, he could not do it anymore. The amount of need, on a minute to minute basis, that he was providing to his spouse was just exhausting him to the point of illness, and he had reluctantly expressed that he did not feel like he could do it anymore, at least alone, whether his wife was going to stay in the house or get care outside of the house. That he could not do it and had reached that point of pure, pure exhaustion. So he wasn't very confident in expressing this to others.
Speaker 2:I think there was a certain amount of sort of cultural guilt and things like that. And so we had the four kids I brought everybody in and anybody that wanted to bring their spouse could bring their spouse sat around this big table and started talking about this, and all of the kids were very adamant that number one is dad can do it, mom's not leaving the house and we're not bringing in caregivers. And I thought, oh, my goodness, you guys are in such denial about the situation, and so I turned to dad and I had him express to his family, his kids, what he had expressed to me, and they were in such denial that they really had, they just couldn't accept it at that meeting. Now, it was a productive meeting anyway, because not everybody can, especially if you really aren't aware, you didn't really fully appreciate the situation as it was. Many people are not quick to move off of what they believed to be the answer, their answer. And so well, it was not. It seemed like a very disappointing meeting that they weren't listening to their father and how exhausted he was.
Speaker 2:After over a week or two they started softening and realizing, okay, this is, you know, part of it was raising the red flag so that they would go and visit their mom more often and kind of see it, you know, face to face.
Speaker 2:And after that they realized, okay, we can't put this burden. You know, often the spouse is going to be of advanced age and you know, the healthy spouse might be 80, 85, 75, whatever it is, and we're expecting them to provide 24-hour care, and often it means 24-hour care, meaning they're not getting sufficient or good sleep at night. And so I think, as difficult as these conversations are for a family. It's a really good thing that Alzheimer's Association helps to move that conversation forward, because it is, you know, it's difficult to imagine your mom or your dad not being, you know, not being that strong pillar of a person that you grew up with or that you know that they're not capable of maybe sometimes even getting to the bathroom or showering or, you know, sometimes eating, and so it's really important the service that the Alzheimer's Association offers of being able to kind of help with what are the appropriate care options, but also part and parcel of that is helping the family kind of wrap their head around what's going on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and like I think I said it before, people don't want to understand or think about dementia and what it looks like until they absolutely have to. I always like to make a joke. Whenever I'm at, say, a senior resource fair or any kind of tabling or public event, I swear people. Look at my big purple tablecloth that says Alzheimer's Association and I've never seen people run that senior health fair.
Speaker 1:Because, nobody wants to think about it. It's a scary topic. We don't want to plan for it, but at the end of the day it's only going to hurt us if we ignore it and we don't think about it and the stigma behind it from a societal standpoint in my experience, it seems like it's lessening, which is nice Could it be better I mean to be able to be put in a position where you know what's coming next, whether it's good or it's bad.
Speaker 1:To be able to then take that and say visit you or other individuals that might be able to help plan for the future. Take that and say visit you or other individuals that might be able to help plan for the future. It's worth skipping over the fear and jumping to the well. Maybe we should keep this in mind because otherwise you end up in a situation where, like you say, families don't understand what's going on, or half the family does and half the family don't. So to keep on tackling that stigma and make sure that people are aware that it's not like it's a contagious disease. It's not something that can be avoided either. It's anybody with a brain is at risk, right. So getting people to understand that and then working towards a future that has the programs and services support the understanding there, and then the family support, whatever it might be, to come along with it.
Speaker 2:Well, I wore my purple tie because I knew I was going to be talking to you today. So one of the ways I know that folks will interact with or have an opportunity to interact with Alzheimer's Association is the annual walk. So I know it's in this area. It's typically, I think probably across the country, it's typically done in the fall time period, right? So can I know that our listeners maybe have participated in the walk, at least you've heard of it, but tell us a little bit more about the Alzheimer's walk.
Speaker 1:So I tell you what it's. My favorite thing it's not even technically my job. But I will still help them no matter what. Because, to see, first and foremost, third weekend in October I believe it's October 19th this year will be the Flint Walk to Alzheimer's. It'll be downtown Flint on the flat lot, but in Michigan there's 22 walks, so it's not hard to find one. And then across the country there's 600 and some.
Speaker 2:There's opportunities.
Speaker 1:I will say that I've said it multiple times that all of our programs are free our education, our support service, our Wanderer, scholarships, care, consultation and it's because of this, realistically, we have plenty of fundraisers throughout the year, as far as the longest day. People have heard of different larger scale events, but Walk to End Alzheimer's is the largest fundraising effort that we have. That allows us to continue doing what we're doing. I think in 2023, across the country raised over $100 million. Wow, that went into programs and support went into research, allows us to continue being the largest private funder of dementia resources or research in the world because of this event and it's fun, it's enjoyable. Well, you know, you've been.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is fun. It is very fun. Bring the kids there's activities. You know you've been. Yeah, it is fun. It is very fun. Bring the kids there's activities.
Speaker 1:You know there's tables that people are giving away free stuff bubbles and bananas and whatever so it is a fun day yes, and then, of course, I'll be there with my purple tent to go, with my purple shirt and purple tablecloth, I'm with programs and services and support, and it all culminates in the promise garden ceremony, which is one of the more moving things you'll experience, as people share their stories as to why they're there and why they'll continue to be there until we don't have to be there anymore. But it's an event. I mean the event's free to register, free to attend. We just hope that people fundraise a little bit along the way.
Speaker 2:So, douglas Lobdell from the Alzheimer's Association, thank you for coming on. This has been very educational and I really appreciate the information and the work that you do.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. It's nice to see you again, even if it's virtually.
Speaker 2:Right. So if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe. You can find us on anywhere that you can find podcasts under the title Advice from your Advocates. If you'd like to see our smiling faces, you can find that on YouTube, because our well, most of you might be just here to listen to the podcast. Some might want to see the video, and that is on YouTube. You can also find and subscribe on our website, which is manorlawgroupcom. So thanks for joining us and don't forget to subscribe.
