CareFlash founder Jay Drayer talks a little about my Alzheimer's Disease advocacy idea in his latest blog post. It is something I don't think I have ever blogged about before.
I would like to create a web site that helps people who are in a predicament I faced in the early 2000s. When my mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease, I was stuck with no idea of what to do. At the time I was a TV reporter and recent college graduate in Waco making under $20K a year...no joke. My only choice was to move to Houston and move back into my old room. From there it was one constant, confusing struggle until my mom died in 2005.
Of course I went to the Alzheimer's Association, but I was not the usual type that walked through the doors. They really didn't know what to do with me. The only advice I got was from a man in his 70s whose wife had been battling the disease for 10 years. If you know anything about the early diagnoses of the disease or my situation, you can figure out that my problems and situation were very different.
It became clear to me something needs to be done because I am not the only one in this situation. A few years ago a young guy wrote into my work in box looking for help. His father was starting to act differently and forgetting things. The young guy was in college and had no idea what to do. I see this situation only getting worse as the Baby Boom generation ages.
I am only now at the point where I can think about doing something about my advocacy idea and not become too emotional.
The question is, do I just start a web site that gives links to help? I don't think so, I see more than that. I would love to have a social networking aspect to it. People going through the same situation should be blogging about their experiences. That could become a valuable resource to others later on. There should also be news feeds linking to the latest Alz news.
Do you make this project a non-profit? Do you also try to raise money for research? These are the questions I am grappling with.
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