Rotary Happenings: Loss an ongoing lesson in leading a purposeful life
While sitting down and starting to write this Rotary column, I find myself thinking of three amazing Rotarians and a member of our extended Rotary family that have passed away in the last month. Rotarians Warner Byrum (retired hotelier), Brian Benham (long-time manager of Jerry’s), Paul Duvall (retired dentist), and Larry Congress (founder of Congress Jewelers).
These were men that led purposeful lives, worked hard, played hard, and loved hard. They all were generous of heart and generous with their support for things they cared about in our community. Their spirit will be with us for a very long time and what friends will always remember will be the giving nature of these men and the example they have set for their families of living the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.” We will all miss you, my friends.
There is no direct connection between the sad passing of our Rotary friends this month and the speaker at Rotary this week, but a correlation of the need for support of families that find themselves as the caretakers for family members that can no longer take care of themselves. This is a stressful and lonely task and seeking help from outside the family can help.
Sanibel-Captiva Rotary’s guest speaker this past week was Mary Freyre, Health Education Specialist from the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center, an outstanding place for those seeking help with family members afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Her exact message: “There are community resource organizations where caretakers of family members who have Alzheimer’s can get and find help; there is no reason they have to do this alone.”
First off, the Dubin Center holds monthly meetings for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients in eighteen locations in this areaon Sanibel’s location at the Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ, 2050 Periwinkle Way, on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m.
These meetings will help you understand the resources in the community that can give you help dealing with the stress and strain involved with caring for an Alzheimer’s patient. They will also provide a network of friends that will understand you as you deal with the everyday care of such patients.
Whether it’s respite care you need or just to talk through some of your problems, the meetings help you understand the disease and the limitation patients have in understanding their own disease and their own capabilities.
Safety for the patient and the caregiver are primary concerns to the program. The Dubin Center has designed information forms that will help during emergency situationsWanderer’s Identification records should be put on file with authorities in case a patient goes missing: Safety Emergency Information packets filled out and stored in the refrigerator in case the caretaker is not on premises during an emergency. Emergency personnel are trained to look for the Dubin Center’s blue sticker placed on the refrigerator to indicate that an Alzheimer’s patient might be in residence and information on that person is in the refrigerator. Disaster Preparedness checklists and forms are provided for caregivers.
These tools/information forms help caregivers plan ahead for emergenciesthis helps relieve some of the stress, knowing that the information about your loved ones will help emergency crews deal with situations that may be out of the caretaker’s control and that this information may provide a quick response to the needs of your family member.
The Dubin Center also provides a great deal of educational and resource information about the disease and will help you with finding additional information that may pertain to your own personal situation.
You may get more information by contacting the Alvin A. Dubin Alzhelmer’s Resource Center, Fort Myers/(239) 437-3007.
The Sanibel-Captiva Rotary meets every Friday morning at 7 a.m. at the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club, Sanibel. Guests are always welcomed.