Jerry and Ellen Hauck have both experienced dementia caregiving, both volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association, and both have learned to reclaim romance in their lives. Jerry has been both an education facilitator (5-6 years) and support group facilitator (8 years) and Ellen has been a support group facilitator for about 8 years too. Jerry is a former high school coach and Ellen is an author with a published fictional book about a husband and wife who travel the U.S. in an RV and discover halfway through that the husband has Alzheimer’s. They met at a spousal support group when both thei ..read more

by Kathy Teyler Jarrett You’ve gotten at least a tentative diagnosis, so what do you do next? Next steps may seem daunting, but there are things you can and should do now – even if you feel in a fog. Do the first 3 sooner rather than later. If you have done some of these already, great!  1. Get a good specialist for your loved one. If you don’t already have a neurologist, psychiatrist or psychologist you trust, find one who knows something about Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) or is willing to learn, whom you feel comfortable with, and who will communicate with you and work with you a ..read more

By Kathy Teyler Jarrett, Oregon LBD Support Group Facilitator Kathy and BenLBD is not ALZ When I found my husband, Ben, at the back door—a pistol in one hand, phone in the other, describing to the cops the seven robbers who were getting ready to steal everything in our house—I knew we were in trouble. Not because there really were any robbers lurking. Because this was a sign that Ben’s Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) was worsening. I learned a great deal about the disease when I became Ben’s caregiver. One thing that I discovered quickly is that LBD shares very little in common with Alzheimer’s. Asid ..read more