Guest guest Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Dear , I so appreciate being able to read such a comprehensive profile of your mother's life. The slide presentation at the funeral home certainly gave me a vision of who she was, but what you put into words clarified her life so much better. Thank you for sharing such a heart felt journey. You have done well including what information you have about LBD. Well said. I have thought about you and your sisters numerous times since losing your mom. I am glad you were able, together, to put so much into her tribute. Come back to us as you can. Happy birthday Maggie! > > Today my mother would have been 77 years old. > > For those of you who are unfamiliar with her story - I would like to, on this the anniversary of her birth, share her story one more time. The Globe and Mail newspaper runs a regular column called " Lives Lived " . The column runs about 600 words long but the following is a draft (that must be shortened) of what we are going to submit in memory of our Mother. It is a joint effort of my sisters and I. > > Mother, grandmother, sister, friend, businesswoman, traveler, bridge and cryptic crossword master. Born February 11, 1930 in Toronto. Died December 25, 2006 from Lewy Body Disease. > > Lewy Body Disease is the second leading cause of degenerative dementia in the elderly. Although symptoms can vary, the patient nearly always has cognitive difficulties and hallucinations, along with features of both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. > > Our mother, Maggie , was diagnosed with Lewy Body Disease in January of 2005. Lewy Body disease killed our mother faster than most. The average duration is 5 to 7 years; she was gone in slightly less than two years. However, in hindsight, she had symptoms much earlier than that and had previously been tested for, and received medication for both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. > > Maggie was born shortly after the stock market crashed. Her family didn't suffer greatly, but she was definitely a child of the depression. Evidence of this was apparent in later years when she worried a great deal about money. > > She attended The Bishop Strachan School (BSS), Jarvis Collegiate and the University of Toronto where she received a BA in History. Following graduation, she married, had three daughters and became a typical 1950's housewife. Her mind was too vibrant to stay at home cooking and cleaning so she volunteered for a variety of charitable organizations and, later, was involved in the early environmental movement. She belonged to book clubs long before they became fashionable. > > In the 1970's her marriage ended and she went to work for her father, a successful broker. She passed the Canadian Securities course. When her father retired, she went back to her roots and became the business manager at BSS. During holidays, she would travel; China, Africa, just to name a couple of destinations. She remained at BSS for over 15 years until her retirement in 1993. > > Not being one to let retirement slow her down, Maggie enrolled in a college course in Jerusalem that fall. She worked on her bridge game, the Globe and Mail cryptic crossword and improving her scores on her Nintendo. She continued to travel extensively, took her grandchildren to the zoo, volunteered for almost everything at the church and spent time with family and friends at the cottage in the Kawartha's. > > In 2001 or 2002, she began to notice things were not quite right. Her memory wasn't as sharp as it had been and she started to have problems with her handwriting. She had trouble when walking Patsy, her beloved standard poodle, as the strength in her arms seemed to disappear. At first, her family didn't take her concerns seriously, thinking it was just part of the normal aging process. Eventually she had a few falls. She also began having strange dreams. Maggie was convinced that she was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and went so far as to tell most of her friends that this was the case. Ultimately, she asked her general practitioner to recommend a specialist. She passed the memory test the first few times with flying colours but she still worried. In 2003, she was put on medication for Alzheimer's (Exelon). Maggie had great faith in the medical community and was determined to fight the progression of the disease with anything they had to offer. The information > given to her about Exelon gave her a renewed optimism but unfortunately the medication made her terribly sick and she finally had to discontinue it's use. Later they tried her on Parkinson's medication (Sinemet). This helped her mobility somewhat but the hallucinations and dreams increased. > > In 2004 Maggie asked her daughters to help her research and find a Seniors Residence for her to move into. Maggie did not want to be a burden and wanted to make sure that if things got bad she would be living in a place of her own choosing that had progressive levels of care. In May 2004, Maggie moved into a lovely suite at the Briton House and was thrilled that she would no longer have to do her own grocery shopping or cooking but could still be independent with a safety net. > > Late in 2004 the phone calls started. Maggie began to get her nights and days mixed up. She started to fall asleep at odd hours and then appear in the dining room in the middle of the night wondering where dinner was. The staff at the Briton House became concerned and called her family. Maggie would call her daughters in the middle of the night confused and restless. One night she called 911 because she didn't know where she was. > > In January of 2005 Maggie was taken to the hospital shortly after she was found outside the Briton House in the middle of the night. She was agitated and violent and completely incoherent. It was at the hospital we first heard about Lewy Body Disease. After her diagnosis we looked for any and all information, as certain medications commonly used to treat AD and PD are contraindicated for LBD. Information on Lewy Body Disease was hard to come by. There is a LBD organization in the U.S. but nothing in Canada. The only support came from the Alzheimer's Society. Eventually we found an on-line caregivers support group at YAHOO! which became a God send throughout her journey. > > From January 2005 onwards she went downhill fast. When she returned to the Briton House in February it was to the Memory Floor as she now required care 24/7. Her friends and family were saddened to see the rapid decline from the amazing woman she was. She had to use a walker and was eventually fitted for a wheelchair shortly before her death. She had increasing trouble with her speech, and because she was not able to get the correct words out it became difficult to converse with her - - and was no doubt highly frustrating for Maggie. She still enjoyed watching sports on TV but couldn't remember how to turn the television set on or change the station. Maggie could no longer use the telephone and although she frequently carried a tattered paperback around with her, she could no longer read. Eating became a big problem, and eventually her ability to swallow became compromised. Maggie was in hospital, this time due to aspiration pneumonia when her family was given the hard > choice – to prolong her life and have her aspirate again or let her go. > > Maggie died on Christmas Day 2006. We had hoped to have her with us longer. However, her quality of life had severely declined and we suspect that deep in the recesses of her mind, she was glad to go. > > > Thank you -- all of you for the help, love and care you have shown me over the past two years. A special thank you to in Oakville who represented the LBDCaregivers group by coming to the funeral home reception for Mum. I am still working through the grief stages and do not feel able to contribute to the group at this time. Maybe later. > > Much love to all of you in your journeys. > > from Cresswell ON Canada > Long distance CG to Margaret (Mum) > > > > > --------------------------------- > All new Yahoo! Mail - > --------------------------------- > Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 sarah what a wonderful article to have printed in memory of your mum, i hope it helps others get the proper diagnosis, as we all know many are misdiagnosed. you and your sister have a great way with words, good job. also we are glad to have you back on the site with us. i can tell you that having this group after dads' death was just as much as a Godsend as it was during dads battle with lbd. it feels nice to help someone who is struggling with what we already went thru and also the kinship in the group was great, i could still talk about dad, without someone saying i am sorry sharon or someone being at a loss of words and then i feel like i cant talk about him, here even 17 months after his death i can still talk about him and share stories here, that is a good feeling hugs, sharon m ---- Skrabek wrote: Today my mother would have been 77 years old. For those of you who are unfamiliar with her story - I would like to, on this the anniversary of her birth, share her story one more time. The Globe and Mail newspaper runs a regular column called " Lives Lived " . The column runs about 600 words long but the following is a draft (that must be shortened) of what we are going to submit in memory of our Mother. It is a joint effort of my sisters and I. Mother, grandmother, sister, friend, businesswoman, traveler, bridge and cryptic crossword master. Born February 11, 1930 in Toronto. Died December 25, 2006 from Lewy Body Disease. Lewy Body Disease is the second leading cause of degenerative dementia in the elderly. Although symptoms can vary, the patient nearly always has cognitive difficulties and hallucinations, along with features of both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Our mother, Maggie , was diagnosed with Lewy Body Disease in January of 2005. Lewy Body disease killed our mother faster than most. The average duration is 5 to 7 years; she was gone in slightly less than two years. However, in hindsight, she had symptoms much earlier than that and had previously been tested for, and received medication for both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Maggie was born shortly after the stock market crashed. Her family didn’t suffer greatly, but she was definitely a child of the depression. Evidence of this was apparent in later years when she worried a great deal about money. She attended The Bishop Strachan School (BSS), Jarvis Collegiate and the University of Toronto where she received a BA in History. Following graduation, she married, had three daughters and became a typical 1950’s housewife. Her mind was too vibrant to stay at home cooking and cleaning so she volunteered for a variety of charitable organizations and, later, was involved in the early environmental movement. She belonged to book clubs long before they became fashionable. In the 1970’s her marriage ended and she went to work for her father, a successful broker. She passed the Canadian Securities course. When her father retired, she went back to her roots and became the business manager at BSS. During holidays, she would travel; China, Africa, just to name a couple of destinations. She remained at BSS for over 15 years until her retirement in 1993. Not being one to let retirement slow her down, Maggie enrolled in a college course in Jerusalem that fall. She worked on her bridge game, the Globe and Mail cryptic crossword and improving her scores on her Nintendo. She continued to travel extensively, took her grandchildren to the zoo, volunteered for almost everything at the church and spent time with family and friends at the cottage in the Kawartha’s. In 2001 or 2002, she began to notice things were not quite right. Her memory wasn’t as sharp as it had been and she started to have problems with her handwriting. She had trouble when walking Patsy, her beloved standard poodle, as the strength in her arms seemed to disappear. At first, her family didn’t take her concerns seriously, thinking it was just part of the normal aging process. Eventually she had a few falls. She also began having strange dreams. Maggie was convinced that she was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s and went so far as to tell most of her friends that this was the case. Ultimately, she asked her general practitioner to recommend a specialist. She passed the memory test the first few times with flying colours but she still worried. In 2003, she was put on medication for Alzheimer’s (Exelon). Maggie had great faith in the medical community and was determined to fight the progression of the disease with anything they had to offer. The information given to her about Exelon gave her a renewed optimism but unfortunately the medication made her terribly sick and she finally had to discontinue it’s use. Later they tried her on Parkinson’s medication (Sinemet). This helped her mobility somewhat but the hallucinations and dreams increased. In 2004 Maggie asked her daughters to help her research and find a Seniors Residence for her to move into. Maggie did not want to be a burden and wanted to make sure that if things got bad she would be living in a place of her own choosing that had progressive levels of care. In May 2004, Maggie moved into a lovely suite at the Briton House and was thrilled that she would no longer have to do her own grocery shopping or cooking but could still be independent with a safety net. Late in 2004 the phone calls started. Maggie began to get her nights and days mixed up. She started to fall asleep at odd hours and then appear in the dining room in the middle of the night wondering where dinner was. The staff at the Briton House became concerned and called her family. Maggie would call her daughters in the middle of the night confused and restless. One night she called 911 because she didn’t know where she was. In January of 2005 Maggie was taken to the hospital shortly after she was found outside the Briton House in the middle of the night. She was agitated and violent and completely incoherent. It was at the hospital we first heard about Lewy Body Disease. After her diagnosis we looked for any and all information, as certain medications commonly used to treat AD and PD are contraindicated for LBD. Information on Lewy Body Disease was hard to come by. There is a LBD organization in the U.S. but nothing in Canada. The only support came from the Alzheimer’s Society. Eventually we found an on-line caregivers support group at YAHOO! which became a God send throughout her journey. From January 2005 onwards she went downhill fast. When she returned to the Briton House in February it was to the Memory Floor as she now required care 24/7. Her friends and family were saddened to see the rapid decline from the amazing woman she was. She had to use a walker and was eventually fitted for a wheelchair shortly before her death. She had increasing trouble with her speech, and because she was not able to get the correct words out it became difficult to converse with her - - and was no doubt highly frustrating for Maggie. She still enjoyed watching sports on TV but couldn’t remember how to turn the television set on or change the station. Maggie could no longer use the telephone and although she frequently carried a tattered paperback around with her, she could no longer read. Eating became a big problem, and eventually her ability to swallow became compromised. Maggie was in hospital, this time due to aspiration pneumonia when her family was given the hard choice – to prolong her life and have her aspirate again or let her go. Maggie died on Christmas Day 2006. We had hoped to have her with us longer. However, her quality of life had severely declined and we suspect that deep in the recesses of her mind, she was glad to go. Thank you -- all of you for the help, love and care you have shown me over the past two years. A special thank you to in Oakville who represented the LBDCaregivers group by coming to the funeral home reception for Mum. I am still working through the grief stages and do not feel able to contribute to the group at this time. Maybe later. Much love to all of you in your journeys. from Cresswell ON Canada Long distance CG to Margaret (Mum) --------------------------------- All new Yahoo! Mail - --------------------------------- Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2007 Report Share Posted February 11, 2007 Your tribute to your Mum is beautiful. Thank You for saying it for all of us. My Mom was a lot like your Mum. Hugs from So Fl Jacqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 -- What a wonderful tribute to your Mum! I see so many similarities with your mother as with my mother. Even with the LBD, it began around the same time. Your mother & my mother were both taken far too young -- when each of them, no doubt, had a lot of living left to do. May you & I follow in their footsteps and live our lives to the fullest with lots of travel and good deeds - and we'll both be rewarded by our guardian angels up above. Thank you for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 , What a moving tribute to your mother...full of love and memories and a lot of straightforward information about LBD for the general public. I enjoyed reading about your mother. I'm sure you miss her. Take care, Daughter of Bill, 91 > > Today my mother would have been 77 years old. > > For those of you who are unfamiliar with her story - I would like to, on this the anniversary of her birth, share her story one more time. The Globe and Mail newspaper runs a regular column called " Lives Lived " . The column runs about 600 words long but the following is a draft (that must be shortened) of what we are going to submit in memory of our Mother. It is a joint effort of my sisters and I. > > Mother, grandmother, sister, friend, businesswoman, traveler, bridge and cryptic crossword master. Born February 11, 1930 in Toronto. Died December 25, 2006 from Lewy Body Disease. > > Lewy Body Disease is the second leading cause of degenerative dementia in the elderly. Although symptoms can vary, the patient nearly always has cognitive difficulties and hallucinations, along with features of both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. > > Our mother, Maggie , was diagnosed with Lewy Body Disease in January of 2005. Lewy Body disease killed our mother faster than most. The average duration is 5 to 7 years; she was gone in slightly less than two years. However, in hindsight, she had symptoms much earlier than that and had previously been tested for, and received medication for both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. > > Maggie was born shortly after the stock market crashed. Her family didn't suffer greatly, but she was definitely a child of the depression. Evidence of this was apparent in later years when she worried a great deal about money. > > She attended The Bishop Strachan School (BSS), Jarvis Collegiate and the University of Toronto where she received a BA in History. Following graduation, she married, had three daughters and became a typical 1950's housewife. Her mind was too vibrant to stay at home cooking and cleaning so she volunteered for a variety of charitable organizations and, later, was involved in the early environmental movement. She belonged to book clubs long before they became fashionable. > > In the 1970's her marriage ended and she went to work for her father, a successful broker. She passed the Canadian Securities course. When her father retired, she went back to her roots and became the business manager at BSS. During holidays, she would travel; China, Africa, just to name a couple of destinations. She remained at BSS for over 15 years until her retirement in 1993. > > Not being one to let retirement slow her down, Maggie enrolled in a college course in Jerusalem that fall. She worked on her bridge game, the Globe and Mail cryptic crossword and improving her scores on her Nintendo. She continued to travel extensively, took her grandchildren to the zoo, volunteered for almost everything at the church and spent time with family and friends at the cottage in the Kawartha's. > > In 2001 or 2002, she began to notice things were not quite right. Her memory wasn't as sharp as it had been and she started to have problems with her handwriting. She had trouble when walking Patsy, her beloved standard poodle, as the strength in her arms seemed to disappear. At first, her family didn't take her concerns seriously, thinking it was just part of the normal aging process. Eventually she had a few falls. She also began having strange dreams. Maggie was convinced that she was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and went so far as to tell most of her friends that this was the case. Ultimately, she asked her general practitioner to recommend a specialist. She passed the memory test the first few times with flying colours but she still worried. In 2003, she was put on medication for Alzheimer's (Exelon). Maggie had great faith in the medical community and was determined to fight the progression of the disease with anything they had to offer. The information > given to her about Exelon gave her a renewed optimism but unfortunately the medication made her terribly sick and she finally had to discontinue it's use. Later they tried her on Parkinson's medication (Sinemet). This helped her mobility somewhat but the hallucinations and dreams increased. > > In 2004 Maggie asked her daughters to help her research and find a Seniors Residence for her to move into. Maggie did not want to be a burden and wanted to make sure that if things got bad she would be living in a place of her own choosing that had progressive levels of care. In May 2004, Maggie moved into a lovely suite at the Briton House and was thrilled that she would no longer have to do her own grocery shopping or cooking but could still be independent with a safety net. > > Late in 2004 the phone calls started. Maggie began to get her nights and days mixed up. She started to fall asleep at odd hours and then appear in the dining room in the middle of the night wondering where dinner was. The staff at the Briton House became concerned and called her family. Maggie would call her daughters in the middle of the night confused and restless. One night she called 911 because she didn't know where she was. > > In January of 2005 Maggie was taken to the hospital shortly after she was found outside the Briton House in the middle of the night. She was agitated and violent and completely incoherent. It was at the hospital we first heard about Lewy Body Disease. After her diagnosis we looked for any and all information, as certain medications commonly used to treat AD and PD are contraindicated for LBD. Information on Lewy Body Disease was hard to come by. There is a LBD organization in the U.S. but nothing in Canada. The only support came from the Alzheimer's Society. Eventually we found an on-line caregivers support group at YAHOO! which became a God send throughout her journey. > > From January 2005 onwards she went downhill fast. When she returned to the Briton House in February it was to the Memory Floor as she now required care 24/7. Her friends and family were saddened to see the rapid decline from the amazing woman she was. She had to use a walker and was eventually fitted for a wheelchair shortly before her death. She had increasing trouble with her speech, and because she was not able to get the correct words out it became difficult to converse with her - - and was no doubt highly frustrating for Maggie. She still enjoyed watching sports on TV but couldn't remember how to turn the television set on or change the station. Maggie could no longer use the telephone and although she frequently carried a tattered paperback around with her, she could no longer read. Eating became a big problem, and eventually her ability to swallow became compromised. Maggie was in hospital, this time due to aspiration pneumonia when her family was given the hard > choice – to prolong her life and have her aspirate again or let her go. > > Maggie died on Christmas Day 2006. We had hoped to have her with us longer. However, her quality of life had severely declined and we suspect that deep in the recesses of her mind, she was glad to go. > > > Thank you -- all of you for the help, love and care you have shown me over the past two years. A special thank you to in Oakville who represented the LBDCaregivers group by coming to the funeral home reception for Mum. I am still working through the grief stages and do not feel able to contribute to the group at this time. Maybe later. > > Much love to all of you in your journeys. > > from Cresswell ON Canada > Long distance CG to Margaret (Mum) > > > > > --------------------------------- > All new Yahoo! Mail - > --------------------------------- > Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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